Resolving Crisis
by CM Aeris
Summary: It wasn’t certain to what was going to happen, but at least for that moment, there was a sense of relief that they weren’t alone... Like hell they're going to let Nibelhiem happen again!
1. Chapter 1

**Resolving Crisis**

**Chapter One**

"_Everything will be all right..."_

It felt like a dream, a dream that you couldn't wake up from… a nightmare, but then… "Hello, hello!" Aeris? "Oh! He moved! Hello!"

The light blinded him as he cracked his eyes open, but it was all worth it for the smile that greeted him. "Heaven…"

"Nope, a church in the slums, you fell from the sky! Gave me a fright." The girl giggled.

He sat up with a wry grin. "An angel?"

She shook her head in amusement. "I'm Aeris." This was one of his fondest memories of Aeris, the first of many. However, it didn't feel like a memory at all. It was almost like, he was there. The last thing he remembered, before seeing this memory again, was watching Cloud visiting his grave from the life stream with Aeris. "Are you okay?"

Zack blinked in surprise, that wasn't how the next part of the memory went. "Better than ever! I'm Zack." He gave her a reassuring grin before showing off his skills by flipping back onto the ground with his back still on the ground. He paused again when he noticed something else. His body was aching… Wait, aching? He can feel pain, that's a surprise, given that he is dead… unless he's not?

"Are you sure?" Aeris' worried tone snapped him out of his thoughts yet again.

He couldn't help but grin at her. "Are you worried?" He crossed his arms and leaned forward.

She gave a giggled and shoved him away playfully. "Oh you're horrible!"

He felt it, her soft and gentle touch. _I'm alive…_ "Am I?" He continued teasingly. _Is this… a second chance?_ "You know what? I have to repay you somehow… hmm… how about… a date?" _But even in second chances, I don't want this to change…_

To his delight, his meeting with Aeris hasn't changed in the slightest... The way she conversed with the locals, the way she scolded that boy for stealing his wallet. (He allowed it to happen this time.) It was not unlike the Aeris he knew; she was kind, yet playful. The only difference here was watching her live her life instead of floating in the endless green of the life stream. Her brows furrowed as she's pondered over which ribbon she wanted and pouted when he asked if that was all she wanted to do.

Yet, he couldn't help but think of the Aeris that had died for the planet. While it was still her, it wasn't her at the same time. Did he leave the Aeris of his time? Is she lonely? Is she angry with him?

"Do you think the slums are strange?" Aeris' curious question snapped him out of his thoughts again. One look at her angelic face, gave him all the answers he needed.

_No, Aeris could never be angry with someone… not for long anyway. _"Not at all, it's a bit stuffy though…" He glanced around before hitting his hand with a fist. "OH! I know! You can't see the sky from here!" He felt a sense of déjà vu as he spoke these words.

"The sky… scares me…" Aeris looked away. "It's like it would swallow you up whole."

Zack saddened, there were so many reasons to fear the sky that Aeris does not yet know. A bubble of anger rose at the thoughts of Jenova and the meteor. These things were what took away the beauty of the skies from Aeris the first time. This time, he'll make certain that he'll take Aeris to see a sky not darkened by the Calamity Jenova.

Boldly, he grasped onto Aeris' hands and held it up to his face. "I promise you. One day, I'll take you to see the sky and it won't be scary… Because I'll be there with you."

She seem startled by his forwardness, but a warm smile graced her face. "I'll hold you to that." She whispered gently.

_**Ring, ring!**_

Zack reluctantly released her hands and pulled out his cell phone. "Zack, return to the Shinra building now. It's Genesis, we're being attacked." He gripped tightly onto his phone and the familiar voice of an old ally.

_Sephiroth…_

"I'm on my way." _I won't let the same thing happen to him either. _"Sorry, I have to go." He turned to Aeris with a sheepish grin and a guilty head scratch.

"Can I… call you?" She asked shyly.

"By all means!" Zack grinned brightly.

"Stay safe!" She said before he ran off towards the highway to the upper plates.

It was the same as the last time; a hoard of Genesis copies swarmed the highway as he hurried towards the Shinra. Like the last time, he had little to no trouble defeating these third-rate copies. Despite the ease he had, nothing could have prepared him to see Angeal again. His friend, his ally, his mentor.

Zack blinked rapidly to ward the tears from his eyes before he racked his mind trying to remember how to respond to Angeal. He vaguely remembered being angry, but he could hardly be angry now. "Angeal… It's good to see you again…" He murmured.

Angeal chortled and shook his head in amusement. "I would never think you would ever mature so quickly."

"Sephiroth is doing his best at the Shinra Building against Genesis. We should back him up." Zack strapped his sword to his back. _Genesis… another person that was damned by Shinra… Can I save him too?_

He waited expectantly for Angeal to say otherwise before the one-winged angel carried him off to the Shinra Building via flight. He hadn't noticed it before, but the view from above was quite beautiful, even if the view was the old beaten Midgar. The Genesis army grew more so each time he looked about. Most of them showed signs of degradation; specks of silver peppered their hair. It wasn't long before they've reached the Shinra Building and entered from one of the broken windows.

"You're late," came the cold crisp voice of Sephiroth.

"Sephiroth, have you lost weight?" Angeal's comment nearly made Zack laugh at the oddness of this situation. His mentor still alive, his war ally still sane, the obsessed Loveless fan still running amuck Shinra causing havoc and here Angeal had the galls to exchange pleasantries with Sephiroth.

"Angeal, a pleasure to see you again." Sephiroth said almost stiffly. "Genesis is somewhere in the building. It'll be faster if we split up. Zack, guard Hojo. Hollander's grudges grew when Hojo became the head scientist."

_Hojo… That bastard._ "Got it." _After what he did to all of us…I'll tear him limb from limb..._

"Zack?" Angeal's voice broke him from his murderous thoughts. "Don't lose your focus."

A wry grin cracked at the corner of Zack's lips. It was nice to be lectured by his mentor again, but the instant the man turned away, he lost his smile.

"SOLDIER doesn't mean monster." His mentor paused and glanced back to him. "You're not one, Sephiroth's not one and Genesis isn't one either."

"Are you okay Zack?" Angeal asked, concern laced his voice.

"… I'm fine, Angeal. Just wanted you to know that." Zack forced a smile.

He didn't want Angeal to die again, but he could only watch as Angeal disappeared around the corner. Zack clenched his fists tightly, angry with himself for not knowing what to do. How can he save Angeal? There was little to no time to do any real planning. In less than a few hours he'll be assigned to the mission to Modeohiem, by then it would be too late. Shaking his head he hurried off to the 67th floor. He doesn't have time to think about this. If he remembered correctly, Genesis would be at Hojo's lab… and after that, Angeal would chase after him.

He felt no joy or relief upon stepping onto the 67th floor. The stench of sterility and chemicals attacked his enhanced senses. The mako fumes were present as well. Despite his discomfort, Zack hurried through the lab. His heart raced with each step and he was hardly straining himself. When he caught sight of the white lab coat, he saw red.

_A person like him shouldn't have the right to wear white._ "Professor Hojo?" He strained to keep his voice even.

"What is it? Can't you see I'm busy?" The deranged scientist snapped as he went over his notes.

"Shinra is under attack, you might be in danger." Zack repeated coldly.

"Then it's your duty to protect me is it not? Don't bother me with such insignificant details. None of you SOLDIER have a great mind such as myself, so just stick to your duties. There's nothing for me to fear over Hollander's degenerate experiments." He paused when someone else entered the room. "Speak of the devil."

"Genesis." Zack murmured as the other one-winged angel landed before them. His hair streaked with silver and his once majestic red leather faded considerably.

Hojo shook with laughter. "Do you really think that second-rate scientist Hollander can stop your deterioration? How sad! How truly sad!"

"Genesis! Stop this!" Angeal's commanding voice came from above as he landed softly on the ground next to Zack.

"Isn't this a sight?" Hojo said in amusement. "All of Hollander's monsters, here in one place!"

"Shut up Hojo!" Zack snapped.

Genesis glanced over to him with a raised brow. "It is fated, your dreams and pride are no more. From the goddess's bow, the arrow has released."

Zack shook his head furiously, trying to rid of the memories echoing in his mind. "You're not monsters." He shouted.

"Then what am I?" Genesis chuckled. "Am I an angel, as what you have called Angeal?" He glanced over to Hojo. "Loveless Act 4."

_He's not listening to me._ Zack gritted his teeth as Hojo continued on with his commentary about Loveless.

"It's a worthless epic story from long ago, the best of three friends duels one another; the ending is unknown, since the last act was lost." Hojo snorted and waved off the play as insignificant.

"Ah, but there is an ending." Genesis drawled with a grin. "What meaning do you think the Goddess's gift has for us mortals?"

_No, not again! _Zack bit his lower lip in frustration.

"Revenge has scarred my soul." Genesis destroyed the wall with an explosion. "Agonizing for its' end, my wish becomes my relief—and your peaceful slumber." A glow came from his hand as a rampaging Bahumut appeared.

Zack felt numb when Angeal picked him up and tossed him at the dragon, telling him to take care of it while he went after Genesis. He wanted so badly to tell Angeal to not go, but like before, he watched his mentor leave. His body ran on autopilot via self-preservation against the Golden Bahamut.

_**Ring, ring!**_

He flipped his phone open as he dodged Bahamut's attacks, answering it in mid-air. "Hello!" Warmth bubbled from his chest as he smiled fondly.

"Hey Aeris." He greeted cheerily as he landed and side-stepped away from a barrage of attacks.

"What's that noise behind you? Did I catch you at a bad time?" She asked.

"I have a guest at the moment." He commented as he fended off an attack with his sword. "Hey, Aeris, I'll call you back a little later."

"Don't keep your guest waiting!" She chirped before ending the call.

He chuckled shaking his head. "Some things never changed…" His smile slowly faded. _If some things can't be changed, then what __**can**__ I change?_

Despite his blood pulsing from the fight and adrenalin, there was no glee in winning. It was an empty victory. There was nothing to gain and so much to lose. With a heavy heart, he dragged himself back to Shinra, but he couldn't even make himself step into the building. Instead he took the train down to sector five slums. He wanted to see Aeris.

However, just as he stepped out of the slums' market a voice called out to him. "Zack!" His mentor glided down to him.

"Angeal." Zack said tiredly.

"Genesis and Hollander have gone to Modeohiem… Are you okay?" Angeal's voice tinged with worry. "Was the summon too much for you to handle?"

"I'm… fine…" He lied.

"I've already told Lazard of the situation."

_No._ Zack thought desperately.

"I'm supposed to meet him now." Angeal commented as he crossed his arms with a stern look in his eyes. "Are you completely certain you're fine?"

_You're the one that's not fine!_ He desperately wanted to scream, but his answer was completely different. "I'm fine."

Angeal nodded. "Take care of yourself." He took off to the sky.

Zack's punched his fist into his hand, trying to get himself to stop shaking from the anger and agony. "Damn it! Damn it! DAMN IT ALL!" He couldn't hold back any longer and let out a frustrated roar. He took a deep breath and attempted to calm himself as he walked briskly towards the church. He wanted to see Aeris, he needed to see Aeris.

He was about to push the doors open to the church when Tseng stepped out from behind the pillars. "Zack we have a mission in Modeohiem…" He paused. "You look stressed."

He gritted his teeth. "I know, just wait a bit."

"Aeris isn't here." Tseng continued.

"Are you stalking her?" Zack commented almost sarcastically.

"It's complicated." Tseng answered.

"You don't say." Zack said as he pinched the bridge of his nose trying his best to calm down.

"Are you stalking her?" Tseng repeated his question almost mockingly.

Zack found himself chuckling pathetically. "It's complicated."

"You don't say." Tseng repeated Zack's answer.

Moments later, they boarded a Shinra helicopter. In the copter were two troopers both waiting expectantly for them to board. Zack plopped himself down next to a trooper before closing his eyes and released a deep breath. Tseng tossed him a headset, which he pulled on dutifully. He relayed the orders probably passed down by Lazard.

Zack nodded expectantly at the right places, but his mind was back on Angeal once again. It was probably no more than a few hours before they reach Modeohiem. _It shouldn't end like this. Angeal shouldn't have to die!_ The copter shook as something rammed against it. Zack's eyes snapped open.

"Sir! The engine's been damaged! Brace yourselves for emergency landing!" The pilot's voice came through the headset. Tseng and Zack automatically grabbed onto the sidebars to keep from being violently tossed. The trooper sitting next to him had a hand over his mouth as if he was about to be sick.

The copter shook furiously as the pilot tried his best to pull them into a safe landing. The ride was rough, but eventually it crashed into the side of the snowy mountains of Mt. Modeo. The propeller's motor exploded and the flames spread across the copter. Tseng and Zack quickly dragged the men out of the copter before collapsing into the snowy grounds to stop whatever fire might have caught onto them during the explosion.

"Is everyone okay?" Zack asked as he dragged himself off the ground and clapped away the snow that stuck to him, before it melted.

"No signal." Tseng murmured as he checked his phone.

Zack sighed as he glanced back to the troopers. "At least we're all in one piece… Guess we'll have to rough it the rest of the way."

"It would seem so. We'll be depending on you to get us through this harsh terrain." Tseng commented as he pocketed away his phone.

Zack snorted. "Just because I'm a country boy. All right then! Let's go!"

While he had no desire getting closer to Angeal's death; he knew it was not wise to drag down the morale of his group. Especially, in these artic conditions, the only way to get through them does not only require stamina, but a positive mindset. Negativity would only put more stress over everyone. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts, he nearly forgot to turn back to check if everyone was still with him.

"Hey, catch up if you don't want to get left behind!" Zack shouted back to them before he noticed someone was actually keeping up with him. "At least someone is keeping up."

The trooper paused for a second as if not knowing what to say. "I'm a country boy too."

Zack was startled by the familiarity of the voice, but quickly covered it up. "Really? From where?"

"Nibelhiem."

He cracked up laughing; it wasn't because the name was funny. Nibelhiem held the worst memories for him when he was still alive. He was laughing because of who was under that mask. He had nearly forgotten that this was the first time he met the young man that became his living legacy.

"What about you, Zack?" He asked.

"Me? I'm from Gongaga," Zack said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. The other started laughing. _This is how he should be… not the man he became after my death. _"What's so funny about Gongaga? You know something about it?"

"No." He hid his grin, "But it's such a backwatered name."

"Touché! Same goes for Nibelhiem." Zack retorted back with some spirit.

"Like you've been there!" The other responded with good humor.

"I haven't, but there's a mako reactor there right?" _One that destroyed so many lives._ "A mako reactor outside of Midgar usually means…" _A ticking time bomb that's waiting to explode._

"…there's nothing else out there." They recited together before laughing. It brought a smile to Zack's face at the genuine laughter he was getting from the other.

_If I can't save Angeal… I'll at least try to save Cloud from all the misery he's gone through… I promise. _"Good news Tseng!" He shouted back to the Turk that was a good distance away. "Me and…" He looked over to his friend expectantly with a grin.

The trooper pulled off his helmet to reveal a young blonde. "Cloud."

"With me and Cloud around, we'll make it through this mountain!" Tseng and the other trooper had stopped walking in favor for a short break while he and Cloud shared a knowing smile and continued on. "So Cloud, how do you like working Shinra?"

Cloud paused for a moment at the question, but quickly responded with a standardized answer. No one who works for Shinra would outright say anything against Shinra, if they don't want to get fired. The conversation continued on with more common topics, until it eventually led back to their personal lives. But something strike him as odd about Cloud… wasn't there something he was supposed to ask?

"Let's wait here for a second." Zack said as they stopped to wait for Tseng and the other infantryman.

"Zack, over there." Cloud turned his attention towards a building a short distance away.

"A mako-testing faculty." Tseng informed them as he got closer.

Zack frowned as his memory was slowly refreshed. Genesis and Hollander are in this faculty and it was here that Genesis turned his sword against Hollander and nearly killed the man.

"In other words, just sneak in without getting into battles." Zack released a warm breath into the cold air and watched it mist over. "No problem, SOLDIER isn't all about just fighting." He glanced back to Cloud with a grin. "You're backing me on this one right?"

The blonde nodded before they hurried down towards the factory. While he had done remarkably well with sneaking around the first time, he really didn't want to bother with taking the wrong routes again and just hurried off towards the correct path. As if Cloud would know any different.

"Zack?" He snapped out of his thoughts and glanced back over to Cloud.

"Nothing, hey this is your first mission outside of your normal duties right?" The blonde nodded. "Definitely different from typical boring old guard duty right? If you get nervous, just take a few long deep breaths to calm you nerves. Just you watch; everything will turn out fine."

Zack mentally released a breath of relief as the look of reassurance crossed Cloud's face. However, when they've taken the elevators to the lower levels, he noticed Cloud was stunned by something. He followed Cloud's vision and spotted Genesis in his degenerated glory with his sword pointed threateningly at Hollander.

"What are you doing!? You need me!" Hollander backed away fearfully. "Without me, who would be able to stop your degeneration?"

"Jenova cells." Genesis swung his rapier at the man's head.

Zack was half tempted to just let the old bastard die… but glancing back at the stunned face of Cloud, he knew he couldn't let him see death again. He had promised to protect him and he will. Quickly grasping onto his sword, he swung it just in time to block the blade. Hollander used the moment of distraction to escape, but Cloud was quick to snap out of his stupor and catch the man.

"Good work Cloud." Zack said, but his eyes were focused on Genesis.

"You don't know where the cells are stored! Even if you went to Hojo, he won't help you! You're a failure!" Hollander shouted.

"Don't listen to him Genesis." Zack whispered, almost pleading the other man to stop.

"Is it my fate to rot away? Even so, the world has lost its path!" He slashed at Zack, whom parried again.

Hollander broke way from Cloud and ran. Personally, Zack didn't care much for the outcome for Hollander, but he was worried about the blonde. "Cloud, after him!" He didn't want Cloud to watch this battle. The other quickly dragged himself off the ground and pursued the scientist, leaving Zack and Genesis alone in the facility. "There's no point in this anymore Genesis."

"My wish for tomorrow shall shatter my soul. For the price of my pride. Flight is no more… for my wing has shattered… such is a fate of a monster."

"I've told you! You're not a monster! None of you are! Why the hell won't you listen to me? Does everyone have to die in order to resolve this?" He pushed Genesis back and counter with his own blow. "What kind of resolution is that?" Zack snapped furiously.

The two exchanged blow after blow. Zack notice Genesis was beginning to tire before the one-winged angel took flight and flew a distance away from him to land on a banister. "Even the world turns against me."

_He won't listen to me… but would he… _"Genesis! Sephiroth and Angeal still want to help you! They're not against you! There's still a chance to stop the degeneration process! You don't have to end it this way!" _Just like they didn't have to end theirs their way. Please, let me convince at least one of them!_

Genesis chuckled as a wry smirk danced across his lips. "Why is it, that you're so determined to help… a monster? What is it that you gain from this?" He strolled casually on the banister with perfect balance as he continued. "Do you feel a sense of empowerment doing this?" He motioned his hands upwards to exemplify his point. "Does it make you feel like a hero? Or do you truly believe that this is purely out of goodwill? Zack, the puppy?"

Zack sighed as he latched his sword to his back and shoved his hands in his pockets. "You're right; I'm doing this out of selfish reasons."

"Oh? And what reasons are those?" Genesis narrowed his eyes at Zack but was startled when the other smiled sadly back at him.

"To keep the promises I made." Zack said with determination.

"To keep… a promise…" Genesis rested his fingers lightly over his brow before he let out an amused chuckle. "The world has truly lost its path." He lowered his hand to glance at Zack one last time. "Nothing shall foretell my return. Even if the morrow is barren of promises."

"Genesis!" Zack shouted as he ran towards the one-winged angel; Genesis fell off the banister and into the depths of darkness of the warehouse. "It's no use…" He sighed sadly before stepping away from the side.

When he walked out of the facility, Cloud and Tseng were already gone. A trail of footsteps told him that they had gone on ahead and into Modeohiem that was at the foot of the mountain. He glared up at the sky furiously. "What's the point of a second chance if I can't change anything! Is this some kind sick joke! To send me back here, only to watch everything happen the same way it did before? Is this funny? Well, I'm not laughing!"

He kicked up a cloud of snow, angry and reluctant to follow the train of footsteps. The anger drove him forward, but as he got closer, his anger melted away. There was no use in being angry, it won't bring anyone back, nor would it change his situation. Modeohiem was just as dead as he remembered. There was no need to go through the other buildings; there won't be anything there just like the last time.

With a heavy heart, he dragged himself towards the bathhouse. Upon entering, he was attacked by another Angeal clone. He really didn't want to kill it, but had no choice when it came close to biting his head off. The silence followed by the battle was maddening, but eventually he made it up to the final floor to find Cloud and Tseng lying beaten on the ground. With a quick check of the two, he found no lasting injuries. Tseng struggled when he relayed what happened. Zack left him a bottle of potion before he left for the room where Angeal was waiting.

"I should have been the one to fight Genesis," murmured Angeal as Zack neared.

Zack couldn't speak; it was like a reoccurring nightmare. The only thing he could do was listen to Angeal's monologue on self-hatred as he merged with the Angeal copies.

"Do you remember the promise?" Angeal's mutated voice broke through. "To fight against anything that torments this world… I am that torment…" There was a chuckle, Zack glanced up in surprise. The mutated Angeal had an unreadable face as it was stiff and almost statue-like. "Cease the torment."

_I haven't noticed how tired he was… tired of living. _

Zack stood there unmoving as the trident slashed across his cheek.

_He had wanted me to put an end to his suffering..._

As Angeal pulled the trident back, Zack pulled out his sword.

_He knew…_

Angeal thrust the trident in rapid succession as he pressed against Zack's defense. The other SOLDIER repelled the attack and returned with his own fury of attacks. Metal against metal, the sparks flew and bounced off the metal flooring. With a forceful shove, Zack found himself sliding across the room before crashing into the wall.

_Had it been Genesis or Sephiroth… they wouldn't be able to handle being the ones to end his life... _

Zack pulled up his sword the last second to block a vital slash from Angeal. Breathing heavily, he dodged and rolled a short distance away l before quickly chugging down a potion and tossing the bottle aside. The burning from his muscles melted away as the minor cuts slowly closed. His mind still felt a little fuzzy, but he quickly shook it off. He gave a torn battle cry as he charged at Angeal again.

_I wonder what dreams… do angels have._

With a final blow, the mutated Angeal falls. His monstrous features crumbled away as he lay beaten on the ground. Streaks of silver adorned Angeal's once black hair. His mako infused eyes no longer glowed; in its place were a pair of blank silver eyes. Zack quickly knelt down to his mentor, awaiting his last words.

"You did well… I'll leave the rest to you… Don't forget your pride… and hold onto your dreams." At his final words, he passed his sword to Zack.

Zack gingerly took the blade from Angeal's hand. "I will…" His mentor smiled fondly at him before his eyes slowly closed. He watched sadly as the green wisps of life stream came to take Angeal away, leaving only the white feathers as a reminder. "Good night Angeal…" He whispered, closing his eyes as a stream of silent tears escaped.

Angeal was gone. He couldn't have done anything to change his mind. Was this really how it is going to be? Did fate send him back, just to have him watch and unable to do anything? What about Sephiroth? Cloud? What can he do to save them? What wouldn't he give to save them from this suffering? Aeris certainly gave up a lot to protect everyone… He wanted to see her smile, to hear her laugh.

"It's time to go!" He faintly heard someone say, but he hadn't paid much mind to it, until he heard a quiet murmur, so quiet that if he hadn't had his enhanced hearing, he would have missed it. "This isn't supposed to happen to you Zack…"

Zack glanced up from Angeal's white feathers and spotted Cloud standing near the entrance. _Not supposed to happen?_ The blonde had a solemn look on his face that made him look almost older than he actually was. His heart jumped. _No, it can't possibly…_ He didn't dare to believe it… but it doesn't hurt to try right?

"Cloud, give me your mail address." The other gave him an odd look, but gave it to him nonetheless. Without a saying anything, Zack text him the following words: Flowers, Church, Prayers, Ancient, Forgotten and Holy.

The blonde blinked in surprise when he phone rung, but when he saw the contents of the text, he just murmured one thing. "Aeris." He glanced up to see Zack with a hand covering his eyes and his shoulders shaking uncontrollably. "Zack?"

"Hey Cloud… What was it that we were going to do when we get to Midgar?" Zack choked out as a stream of tears escaped his eyes again.

"… You said… we were going to open a business that did everything…"

Zack wiped away the tears from his eyes before holding out his arm in a customary greeting. "Together again like the last time eh?"

Cloud slowly raised an arm to meet his as a return to the greeting. "Yeah." He returned with a small grin.

It wasn't certain to what was going to happen, but at least for the moment, there's a sense of relief that they weren't alone.


	2. Chapter 2

**Resolving Crisis**

**Chapter Two: Moments in a Year (a series of mini-stories)**

After Modeohiem, the two returned to Zack's apartment in Midgar. It started off as a fond reunion dinner… at least until the topic of Nibelhiem was brought up.

"Then train me damn it!" Cloud slammed his hands on the table, utensils rattled and fell over the edge.

Zack caught the glass of orange juice before it fell to its doom. "You won't be able to handle it at your current state. Don't forget, you no longer have your mako enhancements."

"Then you better make sure I could handle it! I'm not going to watch you and Aeris die again!" There was a moment of silence between them. "I don't want to see either of you die again."

That stung, but he won't let up. Zack shook his head furiously. "I won't let you go through that again Cloud. What if I failed? Then you'll have to go through being Hojo's experiment all over again. I can't do that to you." He said distantly as he leaned over to pick up the fallen utensils.

"You're saying this as if you've already given up! As if you're certain that you're going to fail!" Cloud turned red.

Zack gripped onto the knife tightly before he stabbed it into the table. "I have no clue if anything I plan will work! Yes, I'm afraid that I would fail, but if I can at least change one tragedy from happening, I will damn well do my best to stop it!"

"What about Tifa? My mother? Nibelhiem? You expect me just sit here like a good little boy and just wait for you to come back and tell me everything is fine? This isn't just your life Zack! It's mine too!" Cloud looked away angrily. "I don't want to be useless like last time… I couldn't do anything, but just watch while you died."

Zack sighed exasperatedly, just great, now he got Cloud all self-loathing and depressed. "You're not useless Cloud… You did your fair share after I—" He trailed off before sighing again. He really didn't want Cloud to wallow about the past, er, future... past future? He shook his head trying not to this of the paradox. "Fine, you win. Send me your schedule later and I'll work something out." It was silent for a moment before a snort of laughter broke through. Zack's eye twitched. "Are you… laughing?" This was probably the first time he heard such a relaxed and care free sort of laughter from his friend.

Cloud raised a hand to stifle his chuckles as his shoulders shook in mirth. "You haven't changed at all." Zack's face turned to confusion as the blonde grinned. "You're still the selfless idiot that tries to reassure everyone and help anyone."

Zack's eyes widened as he pointed an accusing finger at his friend. "You chocobo-head! You guilt me into training you! And here I thought I put you through another depression slump."

Cloud gave a dry smile at that. "There are less than two years before… it happens." He shook his head. "We can't afford to waste time wallowing in the past. I wasted enough the past two weeks here."

_Wait, back up a sec. Two weeks? Why was Cloud back two weeks earlier than me? _Zack kept the confusion and suspicion off his face, not to alarm Cloud. It was quite odd that both of them were sent back so suddenly and without a warning. He'll have to look into the matter when Cloud isn't around.

"I better head back soon, curfew is in another hour." Cloud stood from his seat.

"… Are you still going to become a SOLDIER?" Zack asked.

Cloud paused. "I don't know… It's getting late, let talk about this another time," he said before showing himself out of the apartment.

When the door closed, the apartment became completely silent, leaving Zack to his thoughts. "Two years… I have two years to plan out everything and train Cloud before the Nibelhiem mission comes and bite us in the ass." He sighed with a faint hint of amusement in his voice. "I almost wish I was dead so I don't have to deal with this." He shook his head as he leaned back in his chair with a tired sigh.

o.o.o.o.o

**The Weapon**

"Hey Zack, the upper plates are much closer to the sky right? It might be a little scary, but I think the flowers would like it, what do you think?" chirped the flower girl.

"Feeling brave today are we?" Zack smiled gently as he hammered away on the wagon. "But that's a good thing. Once I'm done with this, we can take it to the upper plates."

It's been days since Angeal's death. He and Cloud hadn't managed to meet up since they parted, but Zack gave him a training schedule to go by, at least until they managed to find some way to work around their time schedules. In addition to his new rank as a First Class SOLDIER, Zack was also bombarded with paperwork and training new SOLDIER recruits. Had he been a workaholic, he would have gladly done all that work without a peep of a complaint. However, given Zack is Zack, he snuck out of work early to meet with Aeris.

"Um… Zack, what is that?" Aeris asked curiously at his side when he was done with the flower wagon.

He blinked curiously. "You don't like it? It's completely sleek and durable. Also, you don't have to worry about the amount of weight you put on it." He had decided to use Shinra materials to build her the wagon this time, since the first time around she somehow managed to break the cute wagon he made her.

She rested her chin on her palm and she surveyed the wagon. "It's not very cute…"

Zack scratched the back of his head. "It works at least right?" _Maybe I should have worked a little harder on just getting better parts for her perfect wagon instead…_

"Hmm…" She pondered a moment longer before finally nodding with a smile. "It's the thought that counts right?"

That brought a smile to his face. "Great, let's take this baby out for a test drive!" He punched the air with great enthusiasm. After all that has happened, he deserved a nice peaceful, flower-selling day with Aeris… Of course, fate has never been nice to Zack.

"Hey! What weapon model is that?" A Shinra scientist asked during their attempt to sell flowers.

"It's a flower cart!" Zack argued. "How can you not see it? Look! There are even flowers in it!"

The scientist paid him no mind as he circled the cart inspecting it. "Tell you what! I'll give you 10,000 gil for the vehicle! I'll be able to make an awesome weapon out of this!"

"No deal!" Zack snapped before turning back to Aeris. "Right?" He seemed almost betrayed when Aeris paused and think over the situation. "Aeris!" He whined.

She giggled. "You heard him, he said no. After all, this is a thoughtful gift." She chirped brightly.

"Are you sure? I'll even double the price?" He offered again.

"Get lost!" Zack snapped before the guy left sulking… but shortly after he left Zack turned back to Aeris. "Does this not resemble a flower cart at all?"

"Unidentified weapon sighted!" A trooper shouted as his group of three walked by.

Zack groaned and began to whine. "It's a flower cart! Come on!"

One of the other troopers raised a hand as if to cover his mouth, but quickly regained his composure. "Dincht, this guy is a SOLDIER." He whispered.

"S-SOLDIER?" He hissed back almost comically. "B-but that still doesn't give him the right to cart around an unidentified weapon in the slums!" He argued firmly.

"It's not a weapon!" Zack whined. "It's supposed to be a flower cart!"

"…A flower… cart…" The one named Dincht murmured under his breath.

"A flower cart?!" The other said disbelief as he leaned over to whisper to Dincht. "SOLDIER are weird."

_I can hear you, you know…_ Zack thought exasperatedly.

"Very well! Carry on… with er… flower selling?" Dincht said in confusion before he turned to leave with his group.

"Good riddance…" Zack shook his head as he ran a hand through his hair. "I guess this isn't a very good wagon huh?" I turned back to Aeris with a sheepish grin.

"It's interesting at least." She responded kindly.

"Well! Back to the drawing board!" He said excitedly as he pushed the wagon back to the church with Aeris. On their way back, Zack told Aeris various stories about the world outside of Midgar. He hadn't noticed the worried look on her face. "Oh yeah! And there's this one time this chocobo was… Aeris?" The girl slipped her arms around him from behind and held him close.

"You don't have to put up a mask for me… its okay." She whispered.

Zack tensed at her words; it was almost like the first time when he went to Aeris after Angeal's death. At the time, he wasn't strong enough; he needed her to comfort him. This time, he was out of tears, but that didn't make Aeris's gesture mean any less.

He relaxed his body and grasped gently onto Aeris's hands. "Thank you." He whispered.

o.o.o.o.o

**The Office**

"Zack!" A second class SOLDIER ran up to him as he got off the elevator.

"What's up, Kunsel?" Zack greeted politely. He remembered that Kunsel and Luxiere were the only two that offered any assistance after the Nibelhiem incident… though, he was a bit curious to why his phone had still worked even after not paying his phone bills for five years. Never mind that for now.

"Sephiroth wants to see you at his office." Kunsel said.

Zack paused and blinked a few times at that statement. "His office? He has an office!"

"You share the office with him!" Kunsel snapped.

"Wait! I have an office?" Zack was completely flabbergasted.

"Where have you been doing your paperwork all this time?" Kunsel asked exasperatedly.

"Oh, I usually do it in the cafeteria or at the briefing room if no one was using it." Zack said sheepishly with a hand behind his head.

"… The cafeteria?" He got the feeling that Kunsel really wanted to smack himself in the face. "Never mind that, I tried calling you earlier, but you never picked up."

"Huh?" Zack said as he pulled oh his phone. "Whoops, I guess I forgot to check it."

Kunsel sighed and shook his head. "I'm assuming you don't know where Sephiroth's office is either." The sheepish look on Zack's face made him sigh again before leading the clueless first class to Sephiroth's office. "You should talk to the receptionist downstairs for information if you're that clueless. I'm not around all the time you know!"

"Thanks again!" Zack said as Kunsel left grumbling. _I wonder what Seph wants... The last time… I hadn't seen him again until the attack at Junon._ Without bothering to knock, he just entered the room. The first thing he noticed was Sephiroth surrounded by mountain loads of paperwork. There was barely any room for the computer he was typing on. "Hmm… so you finally left the library, only to lock yourself in your office… Oh wait, no. It's my office too! How come I'm the last to know these things?"

Sephiroth shuffled the papers he was finished with before grabbing another stack. "It's not my duty to inform you of such things..." He commented off-handedly not bother to even look up. "Originally, this should be Lazard's job to inform you of your new list of chores."

"…Chores?" Zack can't help but lose his composure and slump over. Sephiroth certainly has his moments of hilarity.

"The files for the new cadets you're in charge of is right here; along with the various other duties that's assigned to your rank. This was originally Angeal's…" He paused only briefly before continuing. "But you can understand why it's passed onto you. If you will, I have a lot of work to do."

His eye twitched. _Now I remember why I don't remember ever sharing an office with him. _Zack stormed up to the desk and slammed his hands down loudly. "I'm not going anywhere!" _I was too intimidated by him the first time around… but this time, I'll use this to my advantage. I'll save Sephiroth this time!_

This action actually managed pause Sephiroth in his work. He glanced at Zack with a raised brow. "And exactly how do you suppose this work will get finished?"

"With me sitting in this office doing it!" He stared Sephiroth straight in the eye with the flames of determination flaring behind him.

The general's lip twitched into an amused smirk before returning to his work. "If you're so adamant about working in here, who am I to stop you?" Zack grinned brightly as he pulled a fist down in success. "However, if you are to stay here," Sephiroth droned. "You might want to clear up that desk then."

"Desk?" Zack say before looking around the room for the second desk… Only to find it completely buried in paperwork.

"While you're at it, file them."

"ALL OF IT?" Zack gapped in horror.

"You wanted to work in here, did you not?" Sephiroth clipped icily.

Zack internally cried as he proceeded to clear his new desk and file away the endless stacks. _Fate is a cruel mistress._ He mentally sobbed.

"When you're done, you have five mission reports you have yet to hand in…" He raised a brow when he read which reports Zack was missing. "I believe it involved Tonberries and Cactuars?"

A dark cloud hung over Zack. _Why am I doing this again?_ He glanced back to Sephiroth for a moment before mentally sighing. _You can do this Zack!_

And so, Zack faced his greatest nemesis in this universe… Paperwork… The janitor later found him defeated and buried under his nemesis long after Sephiroth had left the office.

o.o.o.o.o

**The Turks**

"Strife! Man, you need to get yourself a life! It's been hours since your shift been over! And you spend all your free time at the gym?" His fellow trooper asked.

"Don't—" He grunted. "You have something to do?" Cloud said in between pulling weights on the machines.

"Dincht, Caraway and myself are planning to go below plates for some drinks. Want to come?" He asked.

Cloud slowly released the weights back to its place before pausing for a rest. "Aren't you guys all under aged?" He clipped.

"Seriously Strife, you're starting to sound like my mother," joked the trooper. "Besides, they don't check for ID under the plates. Live a little."

"I'll live without a hangover tomorrow morning Delphiki." He responded dryly.

"You sound like you're forty!" said the other before sighing. "Man, its painful watching you." He rummaged through his pants pockets before shoving something into Cloud's hand. "Originally I was going to pick up some chick and go see it, but since my luck with women is in the dumps lately, I'll give them to you at a discount!"'

Cloud was going to reject, but at the determination of his fellow infantryman, he couldn't say no. "Fine… How much is it?"

"I'll sell it to you for 50 gil!" He said brightly.

"Hey Delphiki! Are you coming or not?" asked one of the other troopers.

"Coming!" He said before bounding towards the door. "Give yourself a break sometime before you crash!"

Cloud couldn't help but sigh exasperatedly once he was gone. He hadn't thought of such luxuries as entertainment since he met up with Zack. With their clashing schedules, they haven't managed to get together to plan anything solid for the Nibelhiem incident. However, seeing Zack with Aeris did make him give it another thought to at least find some time to relax a little. Glancing at the tickets in his hands he pondered a little longer before deciding to change and head towards Loveless Avenue in sector eight.

He fully expected to simply walk to the theatre and watch the play for what it's worth. However, a certain red-haired Turk caught his eye on his way there. Normally, that Turk would not have caught his eye at all, given sector eight was under the jurisdiction of the Turks. This time, the redheaded Turk was alone and without his constant companion Rude and he seemed to be in an extremely cheery mood.

Curiosity got the better of Cloud before he shadowed the Turk. At first, he merely just glanced at the general direction the Turk was going before tracing his steps from another street. It wasn't long before he had to follow the Turk on the same street. The crowd grew as they entered the restaurant hot spot. It was strange, fifteen minutes since he started trailing the Turk, but it doesn't seem like the redhead noticed he was being followed at all.

_Where is he going?_ He wondered as he trailed a bit closer. It wasn't long before the Turk entered an alleyway with a burst of speed. Cloud quickly followed after, thinking the Turk probably noticed him following. However, as he rounded the corner and entered the alleyway…

"Heh, you too?" smirked the Turk arrogantly as he leaned against the wall with his hand in his pockets. "I thought it was a bit empty when I found out I was alone."

_Does that mean he's also…?_ Cloud kept a straight face not allowing any hint of an emotion showing, but internally he was conflicted. _If Reno is also back… he can warn Shinra and anything Zack and I do would be a complete failure! _He glanced at the Turk's hidden hands cautiously for the EMR that he so fondly used, but there was no sign of the Turk's favorite weapon.

"No need to give me the scary face, I won't bite… not yet anyway!" He chuckled at his own joke.

_I can't… let him live… He's going to ruin everything._ Cloud thought as he walked near Reno.

"Hmm… not much of a talker, are you?" Reno sighed exasperatedly as he turned away from Cloud and glanced at the door in front of him.

_He doesn't seem to have any weapons. _Cloud cautiously studied the Turk in front of him. _My body is a little exhausted from the workout, but it's nothing I can't work with… and it doesn't seem like he's completely alert for an attack… is it a trap? _

"So, what are you planning to do after this?" Reno asked with an amused tone. "Rushing back to share it with a friend? Or are you doing this for yourself?"

_Damn it! He knows what I'm planning… can I take on a Turk alone right now? _Cloud stopped a few short feet away. _Can't let him know Zack is in this…_ "Myself."

Reno had pulled out his hand from his pocket to check the time on his watch. "It's almost time."

_Almost time? Others?_ Cloud forced himself to calm down. To show weakness in front of the Turks would only encourage them.

The door cracked open before Reno pushed himself off the wall. Cloud braced himself for an attack, but what came next completely was unexpected. "About time! I've been waiting forever!" Reno strolled over excitedly before grabbing the confectionary box. "This place makes the best cakes around! But the best of the best is only made once a week and they don't even sell it!"

Cloud stood there speechless as Reno held the box fondly; he was almost dancing even. The man at the door was a confectioner, not a fighter, not Turks… he even handed Cloud a box. "Uh… thank you?" He said out of puzzlement.

Reno threw a friendly arm over Cloud's shoulder. "I bet you're excited about digging into that cake!"

Cloud couldn't believe it. Reno was not from the future… He just had a major sweet tooth for cakes and thought Cloud was a fellow cake fanatic. _Rude must not like sweets or crazy enough to go with him in his cake craze._ He thought off-handedly before noticing Reno gushing over his box of cake. _I'm surrounded by idiots…_ He tried to shrug off Reno's arm, but the redhead had a good grip on him.

"Hey, are those Loveless tickets?"

_I should have gone home…_

Despite not knowing his name or who he was; Reno kidnapped Cloud for the night as his company. At this point, Cloud would have much rather faced with a possible drunken version of Reno armed with his EMR and a few metric tons of explosives in his untrained state, instead of this sugar crazed and overly friendly Reno. He'll later find out Reno was only friendly towards people who knows about the special once a week cake… Of course, that is after being dragged to said bakery many, many times by Reno.

o.o.o.o.o

**The Mythril **

"…Why does Shinra send out SOLDIER operatives to do these menial jobs?" Cloud grumbled as he trudged through the swamp after Zack. "This is a waste of resources."

"Hey! This is not menial! It's for the bettering of Midgar! We're just getting rid of the monsters so the locals have better access to the mythril and other ores in the mines!" Zack argued. "Besides this is a good training opportunity for you! It's not often I can get missions that's remotely close to Midgar and not life threatening enough that I can keep an eye on you."

"There might not be a Midgar in the near future at this rate." Cloud muttered darkly.

"Stop thinking such negative thoughts! We're going to make it through this! We have luck on our side! Nothing can go wrong!" Just as he finished this line, two Midgar Zoloms appeared surrounding the two.

Cloud resisted a face-palm as he drew out his sword. "You were saying Zack?"

"Just a minor setback!" argued the other as he drew out his sword as well.

"Right, minor." Cloud snipped back sarcastically.

"Not now Cloud! Less talking! More fighting" Zack shouted before charging head on into slicing the Zolom in half.

Cloud ducked and rolled aside with great difficulty in the swamp. He sneered in disgust when the swamp water entered his nose, but didn't give it more than a second of thought before getting up and moving again. Zoloms aren't dangerous if you're used to handling them, but without his mako enhancements or any of his muscle mass from before, this is very tasking for his young body. Quickly jumping aside, he sheathed the sword onto his back before holding out his hands in front of him, in preparation of a spell. The air around him became heavy as two orbs formed onto his hands. A green materia glowed brightly from the materia on his sword.

"ZACK! Get out of the way!" He shouted as he expelled eerie energy orbs at the Zoloms.

The SOLDIER gave one last slash before quickly darting away from the Zoloms. The orbs descended, crushing the Zoloms slowly, the two serpents struggled in their earnest to escape from the orbs of weight before they finally dispersed. Both Cloud and Zack charged and slashed at the Zolom's heads before they managed to escape fully. With one swift slash, Zack managed to slice the head clean off; while Cloud had done five slashes and barely even break the scaly skin.

The remaining Zolom swung its tail to flick Zack a distance away. It roared and erected itself in preparation for its Beta attack. Cloud cursed under his breath as he charged towards the Zolom and dived into the swamp closest to the Zolom's body. Beta was a powerful flame based attack, without any of his usual armor or his sword, the best he could do was this. While the waters might reach a scalding point, it would hurt much less compared to taking a direct hit from the Beta.

"—OUD!" Zack's voice barely got through his water clogged ears as he crawled up from the swamp and spat out the mouthful of water he inhaled when he dove. "GET OUT OF THE WAY CLOUD!"

Cloud glanced up to see the Zolom falling towards him. "SHIT!" He quickly scampered out of the way, only missing the huge falling body only by inches.

"Cloud! You okay?" Zack latched the sword onto his back before jogging over to Cloud. The Zolom's body was already dispersing into green streams of energy.

The blonde sat up miserably, raising a hand to wipe his face of the excess water that threatened to seep into his eyes. "Just a minor setback?"

Zack laughed sheepishly. "Sorry?" He was promptly pelted with something wet in the face; he wiped away the mud ball glaring at his companion.

Cloud grinned. "Apology accepted."

It was a brief three seconds before Cloud scrambled to get up and dodge a coming fireball. "Get your ass back here Cloud! We're doing some training today!" Zack roared. The blonde snickered as he dodged his friend's attacks. It took fifteen minutes before they decided to continue onto the Mythril Mines.

"I have one other question…" Cloud said as they entered the mines.

"Ask away!" Zack said as he sliced through a group of Castanets and Crawlers.

"Exactly how are they getting access to the mines if they can't get past the Zoloms?" Cloud asked as he flashed the flashlight at the darker parts of the mine.

"The miners are going in from the other side of the mines, a small town not too far from Fort Condor." Zack answered simply. "They'll ship it to Midgar through Junon."

"There's a town near Fort Condor?" Cloud frowned trying to remember from his old delivery routes.

"It's at the river near the forest. I think it was called Erzhiem. Maybe it wasn't around anymore that last time around…" He trailed off before the two of them became silent as they finished up the extermination of monsters in the mine and hunted down the nests. Neither of them wanted what has yet to happen, happen again.

_**Ring!**_

"Zack, your PHS is ringing." Cloud quipped. The other pulled out his phone and snapped it open to check the mail he just received. After glimpsing through the contents, he chuckled in amusement. "What's so funny?"

The SOLDIER glanced over to him with mirth in his eyes. "Say Cloud. Do you want to take a side trip on our way back?" The blonde raised a curious brow. Zack chuckled again. "You'll see."

It wasn't long before they finished up in the mines and trekked through the swamps once again. It didn't take them long to reach the forest at the other side of the mines. Just as they neared a voice shouted out. "Ugly dudes from Shinra should be punished! I am the treasure princess! All your goodies belong to me!"

Cloud glanced over to his companion in disbelief; the other grinned from ear to ear. Despite how he was getting used to the past life, Cloud still found it weird to see those he know younger than what he remembered.

o.o.o.o.o

**The Exam**

All Sephiroth expected when he walked into his office that day was just another mindless barrage of paperwork and Zack whining every fifteen minutes either about boredom or some other nonsense. When he walked in that day, the place was eerily quiet. He toyed with the idea that peace might have finally returned to his office since Zack forced his way into staying in the same office space.

Unfortunately, the general knew better than to believe that. He found the irritable spiky-haired man curled up sulking in his chair when he turned it away from the window. "Get off my chair." The other sulkily got off and dragged himself back to his own desk. Sephiroth opted to ignore the man and started on his workload, but then he realized his files were missing from his desk. "Fair, where are the files I left here yesterday?"

The man still sulked with a kicked puppy look over his face.

He waited a bit longer for the other to respond before he remembered something Angeal once told him. Zack had a habit of pulling childish pranks when he felt down or if something was bothering him. Seeing that he wasn't going to get his paperwork back until the other stopped sulking.

"Stop sulking and get back to work." Sephiroth stated dully.

Zack jumped up and flailed his arms comically. "But I caaaaaan't!" He whined.

Sephiroth chose to say nothing. He got Zack started, the other would soon spill out his guts and everything would return to normal.

"I was so sure Cloud would have made it into SOLDIER! He even got a perfect score on his written exam! His field score wasn't too bad either!" Zack ranted.

_Of course, the SOLDIER exam was just a few days ago. _The general crossed his arms and leaned against the desk as he listened. He vaguely remembered this Cloud individual from one of Zack's earlier rants.

"And with how fast he's been picking up stuff, he would've made it to First Class in no time! Argh! There won't be someone near my age reaches First Class at this rate!" He paused for a second before turning to Sephiroth. "No offense Seph!"

Sephiroth have gotten used to the various nicknames Zack so fondly likes to dub him with… though it have taken quite a while… He raised a silver brow at his unintended insult to his age, but he could see where his younger companion was going. It was same for him, being the only First Class SOLDIER left of his age. With Angeal gone and Genesis missing there was no one that could match him.

"If it wasn't for the mako tests he would've made it into SOLDIER too! You would think he would have some immunity from living in a mako filled place like Nibelhiem!" He flailed his arms in irritation before crossing his arms with a frown.

"… That's just life. Nothing is ever fair." The general said simply.

Zack pouted and continued his rant. "I know! Why can't everyone be like me?" He grinned at his own interpretation of Sephiroth's words.

_Always an optimist… _Sephiroth thought. _No wonder Angeal took him under his wing_… It almost made him pity Zack.

"But you know what? It's so infuriating that we don't get much vacation time! You know, if we had more vacation time, I could spend more time with my girlfriend! I told you about her right? She's such an angel! Actually, I thought she was one when I first saw her."

And then he lost the general's pity when he opened his mouth again.

"She is the most beautiful person in the world! Sweet, kind and gentle! A rare jewel among the many!" Zack grated on his nerves.

"Since you're no longer distracted by Cadet Cloud's failure to make SOLDIER, you will return my files to my desk immediately." Sephiroth said as he pushed himself off the side of the desk and went back to his seat.

Zack blinked a few times before grinning brightly. "You care!" What he did next widened the general's eyes. Never before was he tackled with an enthusiastic hug. The fellow raven-haired First rambled about how Sephirtho's icy persona was just a facade.

There was only one logical option the general had in this situation. With a firm hand on Zack's face he promptly shoved the excitable man of him. "My files, back on the desk, when I return." With that, Sephiroth turned his heel and left the room swiftly.

"I knew you were human Seph!" Zack shouted after him as he slammed the door close.

The general's quick stride out of the room was slowed considerably as he neared the elevator. "Human…" He shook his head with a slight twitch at his lips.


	3. Chapter 3

**Resolving Crisis**

**Chapter Three: Nearing Days**

"Strife, I know you didn't pass the exams, but yeesh, aren't you taking this a little too hard?" Delphiki asked as he lounged on the machine next to Cloud's.

"I'm perfectly fine." Cloud hissed as he upped the weight on the machines.

"It's not the end of the world you know, there's still other stuff you can do. After all, didn't you score pretty high on your exams?" He asked.

For whatever reason Delphiki decided to bother him, Cloud doesn't know. He doesn't recall anyone other Zack ever giving him a second glance the first time around. His other squad-mates hadn't given him a time of day before. "Didn't you say you were going to go down to the slums again?" Cloud slowly lowered the weights before taking a breather.

The other shrugged. "A little trouble back home, my spending money this month was sent back to help." But at the same time, Cloud didn't want to shove Delphiki away either. Other than him, the only other two that's willing to speak to him was Zack and Reno… He would question his own sanity if he only interacted with those two balls of energy. "Say, Strife… If you don't mind me being a bit nosey… I noticed you changed a lot."

Cloud glanced up with a dangerous glint in his eye, but he kept his face free of emotions. "What makes you say that?"

Delphiki shrugged. "I can't put my finger on it, but it was about a few months ago that I started noticing. Right around when you met the First Class SOLDIER." He chuckled. "Sorry, maybe I'm just over thinking." He stopped as if remembering something. "Oh yeah, before I forget, there were some suits asking about you. I'm not sure for what, but you should be careful anyway ya know." He glanced briefly at his watch. "I better get going though, my shift starts in five."

Cloud frowned as he watched his fellow trooper leave.

_Suits…_

In Midgar, suits are those who work for Shinra. However, suits that are interested in his abilities would only apply to the Turks. And when the Turks are interested in you, there are two reasons. Either you're on their hit list or they're trying to recruit you. He needs neither.

Slightly disgruntled, he grabbed his towel and left the gym. He'll have to lie low for a while until the Turks' interest on him died.

o.o.o.o.o

Zack dragged himself towards the doors of the Shinra building after a tiresome trip. He has forgotten how it was to deal with the remnants of Wutai soldiers. It would be easier to kill them, but he had a certain fondness for the little treasure princess. He didn't want to upset her by killing her subjects. The First just wished it took less time to lure them away from Shinra's watching eyes and knock them out cold. Dragging them to the nearest town or village was a pain too; if he didn't want the wild monsters to devour them whole.

Just as he stepped onto the elevator he was met with Cissnei's familiar face. A tired sigh escaped his lips as he leaned against the metal frame. "Please tell me I don't have another mission right after that last one. Seph isn't that cruel is he?" She stayed quiet. "… Fine, he could be that cruel, but please tell me he didn't."

"Even if it's a lie?" Her lips twitched up in a grin.

"Ha-ha, very funny Cissnei." Zack groaned.

"I'm not here because of Sephiroth." She answered.

Zack glanced over to him suspiciously. "You're not just lying to me are you?"

Cissnei giggled. "He usually pairs you up with Tseng anyhow. Hmm… Do you think he's trying to imply something?" She teased.

A snort escaped the SOLDIER First as the elevator stopped and the two stepped out and turned down the hall. "Seph? You're crazy! He won't know an implication if it railed him from behind."

"And may I ask; what is this _railing_ as you call it." A cold voice clipped from behind.

Zack turned around with flailing arms. "Sephiroth!" His deer-caught-in-headlights look didn't help him.

"Turk." Sephiroth greeted curtly.

Cissnei returned the gesture with a nod. "General Sephiroth."

"W-What dragged you out of your office?" Zack's laugh cracked as he attempted to change the topic.

"I see you're no longer sulking over Cadet Strife's failure." Sephiroth drawled.

"Me sulking? Well I never!" Zack crossed his arms in mock defense.

The general raised a brow. "Seeing you're so energetic now, I believe you have enough energy to write up your mission report and hand it in, in an hour." Sephiroth turned to walk away.

"Wait, what? No!" Zack whined and latched onto his arm. "Come on Sephy! Just let me off tonight! Pretty please?" Cissnei raised a loose fist to her lips as she hid a giggle. "Come on Cissnei! Tell him I'm tired! I need rest! I'm going to die!" He said dramatically as he tried to wrap Sephiroth's arm around him as he fell.

Sephiroth sidestepped before Zack clumsily fell to the ground face first with a loud yelp. "If you have enough energy to beg for a rest, you have enough to get that report done. On my desk by tomorrow morning and I don't want to see ketchup stains on it this time." The general continued on his way down the hall.

Once out of sight Cissnei knelt down in front of Zack with her arms on her legs and a finger poking at his face. "Are you just going to lay there for the rest of the night?"

"Just kill me…" Zack mumbled tiredly, he hadn't even notice Sephiroth changing his due date to the next day.

"ZACK!" Cloud's surprised voice shouted before a quick set of footsteps neared the duo.

Cissnei quickly rolled out of the way when a kick suddenly came at her. She quickly rolled onto her knees before she pushed herself off the ground. She held her arms out, snapping the holsters from her inner sleeves before two spiked sticks slipped. It snapped into place and became a large shuriken. She was about to toss them, when Zack quickly jumped up and blocked off her target completely.

"Woah! Woah! Both of you cool it off!" Zack waved his arms frantically trying to get their attention. "No one is killing anyone!" Reluctantly Cissnei lowered her weapons and Cloud stepped out of a basic fighting stance. However, the two still glared at one another with a suspicion.

"Zack?" They questioned, but silence when they realized they spoke together.

The spiky-haired SOLDIER sighed as he rubbed the back of his head. "Cissnei, this is Cloud, Cloud this is Cissnei. Good? I don't want to see either one of you skewered or maimed!"

"A trooper…" Cissnei noted.

"Turk." Cloud responded.

Zack crossed his arms as he glanced at the two. "Do you guys know each other by any chance?" He asked curiously.

"No." They replied once again in unison.

The SOLDIER First threw up his arms in disbelief. "Geez! You don't even know each other and you're already trying to kill each other."

"I argue self-defense," said Cissnei.

"Point taken, and Cloud?" He turned to his friend.

The blonde broke away from the staring contest he had with the Turk before he realized his mistake and blushed. He lowered his head and murmured in a whisper hoping Zack couldn't hear him. "I thought she ambushed you…"

"WHAT?" Zack said in disbelief. "You'd think I'd be taken down so lightly? And by a girl? I'm Zack Fair! I'm—"

A fake cough came from Cissnei before he paused sheepishly. "You were saying?"

"Nothing! Nothing!" Zack laughed nervously.

She turned her attention back to Cloud. "Next time, don't attack before finding out about the situation. Or you might find yourself dead." She warned as she strolled pass him. "I'll talk to you again some other time Zack! And get your paperwork done!"

"Don't remind me!" Zack whined before the girl left giggling.

Cloud watched until she was long gone. "Something you're not telling Aeris, Zack?"

He turned to the blonde in surprise before quickly denying. "What? NO! It's nothing like that! I ran into her in Sector 8 a while back when the Genesis clones were on the loose in that sector. Ran into Reno and Rude there too! There's nothing but friendship between us!"

"I hope that's really the only thing between you two." There was an icy look in Cloud's eyes. "Because I would really hate to see if you did something like that to Aeris."

"Do I look like that sort of person?" Zack snapped defensively before realizing the fact the Cloud was in front of him and they haven't made any previous plans of meeting.

From how the blonde's eyes were darting around every now and then to survey his surroundings, he seemed anxious about something. Furthermore, Cloud's continuous attack about him being unfaithful to Aeris was odd. There's something he wanted to talk to him about that's not related to training or things that could be talked freely in Shinra.

"Never mind, come on. I'm starving, let's go down to the slums and get some grub. There's this one place that I heard was pretty good on Wall Market." He threw an arm over Cloud's shoulder casually as he dragged the blonde towards the elevator and out of the Shinra building. Most of the Shinra employees paid them no heed. It's not the first time Zack dragged off someone out of the building to eat.

"Wait… You said Wall Market?" Cloud stiffened up almost visibly.

Zack cracked a grin. "I saw a really cute girl in a purple kimono there one time. What kind of perfume do you think she uses?"

"I don't think she would wear perfume, she'd probably buy flowers from an unidentified weapon cart I saw in Sector Five." He retorted as he walked ahead of him towards the station.

"Hey! How did you find out about that?" Zack pouted indignantly as he hurried after the other.

o.o.o.o.o

"So, what suits are asking about you?" Zack pondered once Cloud had relayed all the information he's gotten from Delphiki. "That might not be a problem."

"What makes you think that?" Cloud asked as he speared his food onto his fork.

"They're always looking for people to recruit after the SOLDIER exams, especially, those who scored high. As long as they don't see any traits they think is Turks worthy, they'll leave you alone. I really wouldn't worry too much about it… How's your training coming along? Planning on taking the SOLDIER exam again?"

"Still thinking about it," said Cloud.

Unknown to others their small talk was a façade. The two had spotted someone following them when they had left the Shinra building. Their shadow, a young Turk with spiky red hair, though not as flaming as Reno's. They opted to ignore him; they weren't sharing any sensitive plans anyway.

"Oh yeah, the guy in Sector Five said once he's done with the bar is Sector Seven, he's going to hire some hottie to run it. Want to go when it's done?" Zack grinned slyly. Underneath his words, he was asking Cloud about Tifa.

The blonde ignored him. "Don't you already have a girlfriend Zack?"

"Who said anything about me? I'm asking you! Mr. I'm-super-serious!"

"I don't have time for that." He reasoned, but what he meant was that there are more matters they have to attend to before he can even think of having a relationship.

"Make time for it then! I go on plenty of dates with Aeris!" Zack grinned brightly.

"Not everyone can have an angel as their girlfriend." Cloud drawled. Unlike Aeris, Tifa hadn't even noticed his existence until the Nibelhiem incidence.

"I'm sure you have you'll get an angel for a girlfriend, you just don't know it yet."

"Why are we even talking about this?" Cloud grumbled as he finished his food and nursed his cup of hot tea.

"It's called socializing. You should really try it." Zack responded with a chuckle before he poked at his meal. Unlike Cloud, his senses were enhanced by mako, he could identify every ingredient throw into the slop. At the moment, he tasted old vegetables and the mysterious rubber meat, it could nearly match the nastiness of the cafeteria's Wednesday surprise. "Hey… do you think food poisoning would be a good way to get out of a mission?" He speared his food and lifted it up for inspection lazily.

Cloud raised a brow, not really certain if Zack was implying to use that method to postpone the trip to Nibelhiem. "Tell me you're not serious."

"If you're going to fake food poisoning, pick another restaurant!" The owner shouted over the counter.

Zack winced and chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry! Sorry! Just a joke!" He apologized.

"You better be!" snapped the owner. "I hear one more thing like that out of you and you'll be banned from this diner! I don't care if you have money!"

"Sorry!" Zack clapped his hands together begging the owner to forgive him. Their shadow watched only a moment longer before paying for his drink and leaving the diner discreetly.

"Think they'll be interested?" Cloud asked, not looking away from his mug.

Zack gave a shrug. "We'll just have to wait and see." He patted Cloud's shoulder before pulling out some gil and handing it to the waiter.

o.o.o.o.o

Once the shadow walked out to Sector Six's park he snapped open his PHS and hit the speed dial. "Rod reporting!"

"You fail." A lazy drawl said over the phone. "Get to Sector Eight."

"Wait! HEY!" He shouted, but the line went dead. The young man grumbled under his breath about stupid veterans as he ran towards the Sector Seven slums train station to take the next train to the Sector Eight upper plate. Once he was in Sector Eight he snapped open his PHS again. "Was there really a need to hang up on me like that?"

"Rule one, don't immediately report to your superiors shortly leaving your target. Especially, if your target already noticed you, yo."

The young man growled and clenched tightly to his phone. "But he hadn't noticed me! He never made any indication that he was even aware I was there!"

"Ah, but you're forgetting about the guy sitting next to him. Have you noticed who that fellow was Rod? Hmm?" Rod became quiet. "Haven't noticed at all have you? That is Zack Fair, SOLDIER First Class. While not as well known as our dear _hero_ General Sephiroth, he is a SOLDIER that often works with Turks. You hadn't even noticed what he mentioned about the Turks during the conversation did you?"

"He said it's common for the Turks to look up cadets after the exams for recruits. What about it?" Rod frowned.

"Correct, but did you wonder how he would know of such information and why he would so casually share it?"

Rod's eyes widened. "He knew I was following them! Then—" A metal rod playfully smacked him in the head. "Ow!" He held his head and turned around to see the flaming haired Turk with the rod slung over his shoulder and his PHS at his ear.

"Bingo, he could have easily been steering your target to give you useless information even if your target hadn't noticed you. He could have been waiting for you to leave, follow you and ambush you. You failed this mission newbie," said Reno as he snapped his PHS close and slipped it into his pocket.

"But that's not fair! How was I supposed to know this guy had a friend like that?" Rod complained.

"Another rule, don't whine. We're Turks; we adapt and do our jobs as given."

Rod grumbled under his breath again. "Then what of that Cloud Strife guy? From what I've seen, he seems like Turk material."

"Tell me why you think so." Reno grinned.

"Well, he sort of reminds me of Mr. Tseng. Disciplined, doesn't exactly follow a routine save for his work hours, but from what I've seen, he won't break from his three hours in the training room. Rarely does he go below plate with his bunkmates for frivolities. He's definitely not a coward. Seeing how he attacked Cissnei earlier when he knew she was a Turk." Rod flipped through his notes a bit more. "His individual scores were extremely high in the exams and his teamwork scoring isn't too bad. I think he'll do pretty well as a Turk."

Reno had his eyes closed as he nodded to each of the details Rod noted. "And? You still haven't told me why he would make a good Turk other then he reminds you of Tseng."

The newbie frowned. "I'm not sure what you mean."

"Why were you recruited Rod?"

"I was hotwiring a few of the Shinra motorcycles, you caught me and then Verdot said I might've be a use for the Turks." He recounted the story. "I don't see your point."

"Turks are recruited for two simple things, skills and guts. You've already told me that your target have the skills, but what does his gut tell you?" He asked.

The newly recruited Turk crossed his arms pondering for a moment. "I don't know."

Reno chuckled. "And that is why you're still green. Cloud Strife won't make a good Turk. He's too much of a hero idealist. The qualities you noted about him and Tseng being similar are true, but their sense of discipline is targeted in differently."

"Then why the hell did you have me trail after him for so many days? This was a waste of time!" Rod snapped furiously.

The flaming haired Turk cracked up laughing as he passed the new Turk. "You're a newbie. Do you really think we'll have you doing recruitment? This is merely an exercise to test your skills."

"How the heck did you know all this stuff anyway?" Rod grumbled as he followed the other redhead down the steps.

"Easy, I was stalking you as you were stalking them."

"Liar! I didn't even see you." He pointed to his superior as the redhead laughed calling him a greenhorn. He growled and kicked up some dirt before running back to headquarters.

Reno had lingered a bit longer watching the new Turk leave before flipping out his PHS and hitting the speed dial. "Hey, Cloud. How about that cake this Friday? There's this other place that serves killer drinks!" He's not giving up his cake-buddy anytime soon for anyone.

o.o.o.o.o

Months later was the attack on Junon, Zack's unwanted vacation at Costa del Sol was cut short as he was quickly flown back to the town to assist in the G-clones invasion. Not that he minded, there was nothing to do in Costa del Sol other than sunbathing and swimming. Just like before, the G-clones invaded Junon to retrieve Hollander. He wouldn't bother trying to stop it.

Rather, Zack focused on exterminating G-clones and various threats within Junon before bothering with a poor attempt to chase after Hollander. Sure, his record would be marred, but that's hardly something he's concern with now. Nibelhiem was around the corner.

Zack had no clue what to do. On the one hand, killing Sephiroth would make everything easier, but he couldn't do it. Sephiroth was his friend. Unlike Angeal, there was still a chance to save the silver-haired general. He had a brief exchange with Sephiroth before returning to Midgar. Unlike the last time, he sees the man almost daily if he wasn't on field missions. The pleasantries were short, but he made certain Sephiroth would not forget that he was still his friend.

When he returned to Midgar, he quickly made his way to the church in sector five. The doors were opened. His heart chilled as he rushed in.

"Aeris!" He shouted, fear still gripping at his heart.

"Zack!" The girl called out to him, but stayed hovering over an injured creature. Not too far from them was a flaring pile of burning rubble. The creature glanced up at the sound of Zack's voice before throwing its head up to show off the Angeal face on its neck.

"Angeal…" He murmured to himself as he came near enough to pet the creature's head. It rubbed its head against his hand before flapping its wing and taking off to the wooden beams above.

"Zack?" Aeris sounded worried.

He quickly enveloped her in a reassuring hug. "Don't worry Aeris, everything is fine. The fellow up there is a good friend of mine. He won't hurt you in the least bit." They stayed in embrace for a moment longer before Aeris hugged him tighter. "Aeris?"

"I-I'm fine." She whispered. It sounded like she was trying not to cry.

Zack allowed himself a sad smile as he gently petted her hair. "What's the matter silly? Did it scare you that much?"

"No." She said childishly, but didn't let go of him from her hug. "Hey Zack?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think we can build another flower cart? I-I want to try going above the plate today." She whispered.

Zack's smile widened. "Definitely a brave one today, aren't you?" He broke away from their hug grasping onto her hands. "Oh what the heck, you stay here okay? I'll get the materials." He said before breaking away, but not before he shouted to the Angeal copy from above. "Rest and don't push yourself too much!" The clone merely nodded before he turned his heel and ran.

"Zack!" He paused and turned. Aeris caught up to him. "Actually… I want to go with you this time… please?" She latched onto his arm.

He didn't have the heart to say no. "… Alright, but stay close okay?" The bright smile on Aeris's face made everything worth it.

The material gathering didn't take long with the help from the wallet thief. However, when they went to gather the lumber, something peculiar happened.

"Tell you what; I'll give you the wood for free if you help me name the new bar I'm building in Sector Seven." The man said.

That's easy, Zack had thought, but he wasn't the only one to answer. "Seventh Heaven." He glanced to his right and saw Aeris smiling brightly with the answer.

"Hmm… Seventh Heaven… a sector seven haven for food and drinks. Yeah, I can see it, a hot babe running it and probably a secret hide out in the basement." The guy pondered before chuckling. "You two certainly are a pair! Thinking of the same name and saying it at the same time! Here you go!" He handed them the wood.

The trip back to the church didn't take long and building the wagon, even less. "Why did you decide Seventh Heaven as a name?" He asked.

She smiled brightly. "It just felt right. You think so too didn't you?"

He grinned. "Yeah…" he finished helping her load up her new cart. "Let's see, how does it look?"

She circled it once before clasping her hands behind her back. "I think it'll do. Let's go sell some flowers!" She smiled.

Zack scratched the back of his head in confusion. "Really? You don't want something cuter?" Personally, he thought the second attempt actually looked quite shoddy compared to his weapon flower wagon.

"Well… I do have a lot of little wishes." She pondered a moment later.

Now that sounded familiar to Zack. "Oh? How many of them do you have? I think I can do something about it."

She glanced over to him with a mischievous grin over her lips as she leans forward. "Are you sure you can fulfill all of them?"

He chuckle and nodded. "Come on, lay it on me, I can take it."

"Hmm…" she pretended to count her fingers before deciding a number. "Twenty-three little wishes. Do you think you can do that?"

"Twenty-three eh? I think I can do it… though; you might have to write it down so I don't forget." He grinned.

"I thought you might say that." She chirped before pulling out a small sheet of paper. "So I already wrote them down already!"

"You're definitely prepared. How did you know I was going to agree?" He teased.

_**RING, RING**_

The happy feeling in Zack's chest slowly faded away as he excused himself to answer the phone. "Zack here." He answered.

"The situation has changed, return to headquarters immediately." Sephiroth's message was brief before he hung up.

Zack held onto the phone a moment longer listening to the dial tone. It's too soon… He knew it was coming… yet… "Work?" Aeris's sweet voice broke him from his thoughts.

He snapped the phone close before giving a sheepish smile. "Yeah, sorry about that…"

"I understand, here." She said as she handed him her little sheet of wishes.

He took not only the sheet but her hands as well. "You managed to put all twenty-three wishes on one little sheet of paper?"

"You haven't seen what it is yet." She retorted playfully.

He rubbed his thumbs over her soft hands, not wanting to let go, but he knows that he'll have to eventually. "Aeris… I think a mission has come up… and I might have to leave Midgar for a while."

"When are you coming back?" She asked.

Would he be able to come back this time? Will he be able to keep a promise if he made one? "…I'm not sure." He couldn't do it.

"Oh… Can I call you still?" She asked.

He smiled. "Of course, I'll pick up even if I'm in a mission!" He picked up her hands and planted a kiss on them. "I'll try to bring you back a gift too while I'm at it."

Her smile didn't seem to reach her eyes, but she smiled nonetheless. "Be careful." She whispered as she him into a tight hug.

Zack felt the guilt gnawing at him. "Don't worry; you make it sound like I'm never going to come back. I'll be back before you know it."

"… Yeah…" She murmured before breaking away from the hug. "Have a safe trip."

"I will." He said before look up to the beams before pointing to the Angeal clone. "You keep an eye on her okay?" He took a few steps back from Aeris rubbing the back of his head again. "Well… see you again soon! Later!" He quickly left the church in a light jog.

"… Bye… Zack." Aeris whispered sadly as the church doors closed.

o.o.o.o.o

Zack arrived at his shared office twenty minutes later. "I'm here."

Sephiroth waited for him while looking over mission reports. "We have monster sightings at one of the reactors."

Zack stiffened. This was it. This is the mission they're been training and planning for, for the past two years.

"Something wrong?" The general asked.

"It just sounded strange to have us go when there are other SOLDIER in the area… That's all." He lied.

"There's more." Sephiroth added. "From the last report the last batch of SOLDIER that went to investigate, they sent back a report of suspicious pods in the reactor."

"… Possibly equipment from Modeohiem… Which means…" Zack grimaced.

"Lazard, Hollander and… Genesis… We have no choice but to go." Sephiroth concluded.

Zack sighed as he shook his head. "Let's hurry up and get going then."

"Go to the SOLDIER floor first. There will be troopers joining us on our trip. Make sure you all are prepared before our departure."

"Roger that." Zack resisted the urge to sigh.

"Our orders are to investigate the mako reactor." Sephiroth noted. "But depending on what we might find… I might leave Shinra. I—"

Zack interrupted. "Sephiroth, no matter what happens. It has been a great honor to work with you."

The general looked puzzled for a moment before his lip twitched slightly. "Likewise Zack."

"I'll head down to check on the troopers going with us then." With that, Zack left their office and headed towards the elevator. As he waited for the elevator, he flipped out his PHS and quickly hit the speed dial. "Hey Tseng, can I ask of you for a favor?"

"Depending what it is." The Turk responded curtly.

"I'm not going to be in Midgar for a while… Can you keep an eye out on Aeris for me? You know, just in case…"

"Don't worry about her. It's our duty to protect and watch over her in case she gets into any danger."

"Thanks, I know I can trust you." He said before the Turk chuckled on the other side. "What are you laughing at? I'm counting on you!"

"Very well, you can go without worries. We'll watch over Aeris."

With that Zack hung up and entered the elevator as if finally arrived. Moments later he was on the SOLDIER floor level forty-nine. Cloud was waiting with his arms crossed and leaning against the wall.

"So… it's finally time, huh?" Cloud said slowly.

Zack sighed as he folded his arms behind his head. "Yeah… I know. It's now or never right?"

"… Not going to see Aeris one last time?" Cloud murmured softly.

"Already saw her… And if I go see her again now, I don't think I'll be able to leave." He shook his head. "Who else is coming with us on this trip?"

"Delphiki reporting for duty sir!" Cloud's bunkmate ran up to the duo a moment later.

"Ah, did you two prepare everything you need for the trip? Clothes, ammo, first-aid kit and whatnots?" Zack asked offhandedly.

He and Cloud have prepared plenty of potions and materias for this trip. Cloud wore a light armor underneath his uniform. Zack had taken to carry a second sword, much like his mentor. Though, this sword was not for his use. Rather, it was for Cloud when they reach Nibelhiem. He placed it under the guise of not wanting to ruin the buster blade as Angeal once had.

Sephiroth arrived ten minutes later. "I trust the preparations are complete."

"We're set and ready to go/" Zack nodded before the dreadful question came up. "Where are we heading?"

"To Nibelhiem." Sephiroth's baritone voice imprinted the name deeply into their minds. From here on, there was no place for mistakes, no place for hesitation. Either they succeed in changing the events in Nibelhiem or watch history repeat itself.


	4. Chapter 4

**Resolving Crisis**

**Chapter Four: Nibelhiem**

The trip to Nibelhiem was torturously slow. Cloud suffered the worst of motion sickness as crossed the sea. Without the mako in the system, his old time misery returned.

"Are you sure you're all right Strife? You've been blowing chunks for the past two days." Delphiki asked worriedly.

Cloud groaned as he sank to his knees, his hands still gripping onto the guardrails. "Where are Zack and the general?" Cloud twisted his body to lean against the rails before resting a hand over his stomach, hoping to ease his upset stomach.

"The general is at the front of the ship… uh… I'm not sure what's he doing." He laughed sheepishly. "I'm afraid to ask."

"And Zack?" Cloud held a hand to his mouth. "Delphiki, please stop rocking."

The other trooper stopped before plopping down next to him. "Ah, sorry, sorry." He rested his arms on his knees. "That Zack fellow is wandering around the ship trying to get a signal. Apparently, he lost connection in the middle of talking to his girlfriend. With how he acts, it's kind of hard to believe he's a First Class SOLDIER like the general… They're so… different."

Cloud found himself chuckling at Delphiki's opinion of Zack despite his upset stomach. "He's definitely something."

"Oh yeah, Nibelhiem is your hometown right? Must've been some luck that you were on this mission eh?"

"… Some luck." Cloud mumbled. Considering what had happened the first time around, he wouldn't call this luck.

"What? It can't be that bad."

"It's not that." The blonde curled up, hugging his knees. He felt sick again.

"Hey, you're not going to hurl again are you?" Delphiki inched away slightly.

"Yo ho! What are you two doing?" Zack's cheery voice startled Delphiki to scramble to his feet with a hasty salute.

"Sir!" He shouted.

Zack wave it off. "Relax, it's not like I have anything for you to do until we get to Nibelhiem. Think of this as your time off for now."

"Yes sir!" Delphiki hesitantly relaxed.

The First Class SOLDIER loomed over Cloud before resting his hands at his hips. "How are you holding up?"

"I've been better." Cloud didn't move from his curled position.

Zack gave a sigh before pulling out an inoculation tube. "Here, take a tranquilizer, it'll settle your stomach." He knelt down, grabbing the other's hand and slapped the inoculation tube into his grasp. "Remember to use it. No need to make yourself suffer. We still need you around for the rest of the mission." Cloud gripped the inoculation tube tightly as he pulled his arm back.

_**Ring, Ring**_

Zack cheered as he rummaged through hi pockets for his phone. "YES! I have connection! I'll be right back! Make sure he uses it!" Zack shouted before running off.

"That must be some girlfriend he has." Delphiki mused as he watched Zack skip away.

"Just leave him be." Cloud grunted as he stabbed his leg with the inoculation tube. "He'll be intolerable later if he doesn't get this out of his system."

Delphiki raised a brow. "Intolerable?"

Cloud yanked out the tranquilizer. He remembered giving one to Yuffie the last time he was on the cargo ship. "You'll see at some point. Nibelhiem area has horrible signals."

"Hmm?" Delphiki hummed curiously as he glanced back over to where Zack ran off. "For someone as sociable as wall, you're pretty chummy with that Zack fellow." The blonde didn't respond. "Strife?" He turned back to his companion when he didn't respond.

"Zzz…" Cloud snored gently to the winds of the salty air.

"How the heck did you fall asleep in the middle of a conversation?" Delphiki shook his head in disbelief before hauling the blonde from the ground. "Come on spiky, down under the deck with you before you catch a cold."

"Is something wrong?" The icy voice made the trooper yelp and nearly drop Cloud.

"General Sephiroth sir!" He hurriedly saluted, but stumbled as he tried to balance Cloud with his other arm. "Strife is not feeling well. SOLDIER Zack gave him a tranquilizer earlier."

"Where is Zack?" The general asked as he glanced at the blonde.

"He was here a few minutes ago. He left to take a call."

"We'll be arriving at Costa del Sol in an hour. Inform Zack when you see him." Sephiroth said as he turned and left.

"Yes sir!" Delphiki saluted again until Sephiroth was out of sight. "Man, today's just not your luck Strife. The General caught you sleeping."

"Zzz…" Cloud didn't stir.

He sighed. "No use talking to you now, you're completely knocked out by the tranquilizers." He heaved the blonde to lean on him before trekking towards the stairs.

o.o.o.o.o

"You have ten messages." The phone announced as Zack checked his voice mails. The connection was still fairly weak, he won't be able to make solid calls until they reached Costa del Sol, but for the moment he'll still be able to retrieve his messages. "Message one."

"Hi Zack, it's me! Just calling to see how you're doing… Um… I guess connection is pretty bad, so I'll call you again later!" Aeris's voice chirped brightly bringing a smile to Zack's face as he listened.

"Message two." The automated voice continued.

"Me again! You must still be traveling, just wanted to say the wheel broke on the wagon you made me. Clumsy of me huh?" She laughed sheepishly. "I tried fixing it, but I think I might have made it worse. Well, I'll leave you alone for now!" He clicked to save the message. It was too cute for him not to.

"Message three." The phone continued.

"You're not picking up your calls." He could hear her pouting. "What happened to picking up even when you're on a mission? I hope you're safe. Call me back okay? Stay safe!" He continued to save each and every one of Aeris's voicemails.

Until… "Inbox full. Would you like to delete older messages?" The phone asked.

However, before he was able to press into other options, his connection died. He sighed as he leaned on the railing and held his phone up above his head as he leaned back to look up. It was awfully strange. The last time around, he hadn't notice Aeris calling this often. Not that he minded, but something was definitely strange. Thinking back on before he left Midgar, she was acting strange then too.

She seemed worried and concern that he wasn't going to come back. He shook his head as he snapped his phone close and pocketed it. Why would she be worried? It's not like she knows what was going to happen. Even if she is an Ancient, she can't tell the future… Unless… He shook his head again as he pushed himself away from the railing and begun to do squats in an attempt to distract himself. However, the thoughts distracting him from thinking about Aeris weren't much better.

They'll be at Nibelhiem in the matter of days, and after that, they have seven days to change history before Sephiroth snapped and plunge the world into chaos and destruction once again. He sighed as he slow stood back up and scratched the back of his neck. "This is going to take a lot of work."

_Ring, Ring_

o.o.o.o.o

They arrived in Costa del Sol days later. However, Cloud looked worse for wear even with Delphiki helping him off the ship. "Hey Seph, maybe we should stay a day. Cloud doesn't look like he's in any condition to travel at all."

The general glanced back to the blonde and found him trying not to vomit in his presence, but Cloud quickly stood up straight. "There's no need to postpone the mission for me."

"Cloud." Zack started worriedly, but sighed afterwards. "Onwards we go I guess…"

Cloud was ready for this trip. He didn't want a chance to back out. As they filed into the truck, Zack couldn't help but notice the dreariness and lack of moral among the group. Sephiroth was his usual quiet self, majestic, intimidating, showing no concern or interest to any of them. Cloud was sick and the last trooper was anxious being in the presence of the great General Sephiroth. To top it all off, it started to rain. He gave an annoyed whine before getting up from his seat.

"You're restless Zack." Sephiroth glanced at him.

"Argh! I can't take it anymore!" He jumped up from his seat and started squats. "It's too quiet! And everyone is either not feeling well or scared of you! Stop being so cool!"

Sephiroth raised a brow. "Cool?"

Zack pointed rudely at him and was about to ramble when his phone rang.. "Excuse me!" He chirped before snapping it open and answering cheerfully. "Helloooooo Aeris! Did you miss me?"

Sephiroth shook his head at Zack's short attention span, but at least he was distracted. However, peace didn't remain long in the truck; the driver came to a screeching halt throwing Zack into the barrier between the back and the front.

"Ow…" Zack whined holding his nose. "No, I'm fine Aeris, nothing wrong, just bashed my nose a little." He paused for a second before chuckling gently. "Are you crying silly?"

A roar came from outside of the vehicle. "That would be our monster." Sephiroth said casually as he got up. "Zack." He called to the other as he jumped out.

"All right, coming!" Zack scrambled to his feet and tossed his phone to Cloud. "Cloudy, talk to Aeris for me would ya? She's crying."

"But—" Cloud protested as he caught the phone, but Zack was already out of the vehicle. He hesitantly raised the phone to his ear. "Aeris? This is Cloud, Zack told me to talk to you."

A soft hiccup came from the other side of the phone. "H-Hi Cloud." He could hear the ruffling on the other side, she must be dabbing her eyes with a tissue.

"Zack will be fine, they're just going to take care of the monster and be right back." He said awkwardly. How was he supposed to talk to someone he knew and cared and pretend not to know her all the same?

"I'm sure he will…" She became silent for a moment.

"Aeris?" Cloud called out to her gently.  
"It's nothing Cloud, I'm just being silly. Of course Zack will be fine. He's a first class SOLDIER right?" Her cheeriness sound strained.

A sinking feeling touched the pit of Cloud's stomach, could Aeris know? Could she also be like them? But how can he check to see if he's right? He thought back to all the times they had together during their travels before finally a memory came to him.

"Hey Aeris?"

"Yes Cloud?"

"Have you ever… seen fireworks while riding on a gondola?" He asked.

A moment later a gasp came from the other end. "Cloud? Is it… really you?"

Cloud closed his eyes; it really was Aeris. She was back as well along with them. How many more of them are there? Or does this mean Sephiroth will eventually remember?

"Cloud?" Aeris's voice came through the phone.

"It looks like General Sephiroth and that Zack are finished." Delphiki commented.

"We're going to be fine, Aeris. Nothing is going to happen." This time was left without saying, but he wasn't sure if she heard him or not. The connection died.

"Well, was she okay?" Zack asked when Cloud handed the phone back.

"The connection died." He said quietly. Zack tilted his head curiously but Cloud shook his head, he'll tell him later.

The rest of the trip up to Nibelhiem was uneventful. Cloud made sure to pull his helmet back on before stepping out of the truck. There was no need to drag Tifa into this mess.

"How does it feel to be back at you home town?" Sephiroth said as they neared the entrance. "I wouldn't know, I don't have a hometown."

"What about your family?" Zack recited his question somewhat unwillingly.

"My mother's name is Jenova… She died shortly after my birth. My father…" Sephiroth shook with laughter as he shook his head. "Why am I talking about this? Let's go."

While Zack was busy with Sephiroth Cloud was looking around Nibelhiem from where he stood. Something was different. Something was missing—no. _Someone_ was missing. Where was Tifa? Shouldn't she be around to ask about where he was?

"We only need one person on guard duty. Feel free to visit family and friends." Sephiroth called out to Cloud before heading into the inn.

"Cloud is something wrong?" Zack asked when he noticed Cloud shifting uncomfortably.

"Tifa's missing." Cloud whispered.

Zack frowned and looked about with his hands at his hips. "Now that you mentioned it… shouldn't she be out here asking about you?"

"I'm going to go look for her. Something just doesn't feel right." Cloud murmured.

"Do what you need to do, but we need to recap on what to do afterwards. Where should I go find you later? I have a few things I need to pick up."

"My house is that small one over there. I'll be visiting my mom if I can't find Tifa… I want to at least see her again before…" Cloud became quiet.

"I understand, just go." Zack gave him a friendly shove to push him on his way.

While Cloud was busy looking for Tifa, Zack had a few things of his own to do. Like say hunt down the kid with the seven wonders of Nibelhiem. He could use a Phoenix materia and what better way to explain why he would climb the water tower than to say a kid told him to? Well… not the most mature answer, but at least it wouldn't be suspicious to why he knows there's a materia there.

o.o.o.o.o

Cloud searched the whole town. He even went as far as going into the mayor's house to look for her, just incase she wasn't feeling well, but still, nothing. Depressed, he decided to head back to his house and see how his mother was doing.

"Mom?" Cloud called out as he walked into the house, pulling his helmet off as he stepped in. "I'm back, have you seen…" He trailed off when he spotted Tifa sitting at the table with his mother nursing a mug of tea.

"Cloud!" Tifa's face lit up with a smile as she left her seat to give him a warm hug.

"Hey…Tifa…" He murmured lamely as he returned the hug. What was she doing here?

His mother smiled at their exchange before gently chiding. "You should've written Cloud, I would've prepared something for you."

"Sorry, it was kind of a last minute thing." He lied, staring at the smiling Tifa before him. This was different… Could it be? "Mom, is it okay if I go out with Tifa a little bit? I'll be back later and we can catch up."

The blonde woman smiled widely. "Now no fooling around before marriage." She wagged her finger.

Cloud's face flushed red. "Mom!"

A melodic laughter came from his mother before she ushered them out of the house. "Have fun."

Once the door was closed Cloud turned to Tifa with a wary eye.

"Looks like we're going to go up to the reactor tomorrow huh?" Tifa said with her hands behind her back. "How are you Cloud?"

"How long were you back?" Cloud asked bluntly.

Tifa's eyes widened for a second before sighing. "A couple of weeks. I wanted to get Vincent out, but I'm not strong enough to knock down the wall leading down to the basement. How'd you know it was me?"

"You weren't with my mom last time around. I remembered that much." Cloud murmured as he looked around. Nibelhiem was like a ghost town.

"So do you have a plan?" Tifa looked at him hopefully.

"We destroy Jenova before Sephiroth goes to the reactor tomorrow. We'll deal with Hojo's notes later, but Jenova is first priority."

Tifa crossed her arms with a worried expression. "I hope you're prepared to go up Mt. Nibel. I tried a while back, but the monsters were too much for me."

Cloud was about to talk again when a pair of hands clapped onto their shoulders enthusiastically. "What are you kids talking about?" Zack's cheery disposition startled Tifa to tossing him over her shoulder.

"Zack!" Cloud quickly helped his friend up while Tifa covered her mouth in horror.

"I'm so sorry! You startled me." She tried apologizing, but he quickly waved it off.

"That's one heck of a throw." Zack grimaced as he sat up. "So who's the special lady Cloud? Care to introduce us?"

"It's Tifa, Zack." Cloud said dully.

"Well hellloo Ti—"

"Our Tifa." Cloud added.

"Oh." Zack flushed red. "Sorry Tifa."

"This doesn't change our plans." Cloud noted.

Zack nodded. "So, are we set? Everyone packed their goodie bags filled with potions and ethers?"

"We're not going now." Cloud argued quietly. "Not with Delphiki and Sephiroth watching."

They waited until nightfall after everyone was asleep before hiking up Mt. Nibel. They opted not to take the bridge, knowing it would snap and hinder their passage to the reactor. The trek was dark and filled with monsters, but even then it was hard to feel sullen with Zack singing random melodies with just as random lyrics.

"His name is Cloud, he has a sword. He fights cactuars because he's bored." His tone was off key. "He likes to ride on chocobos, it's better than having afros."

"Can we shut him up?" Tifa scowled, but it was hard to stay angry.

"BECAAAAAAAUSE HE IS CLOUD!" He sang only louder. "His hair defies all gravity!"

"No, I think his singing is warding off monsters." Cloud commented in amusement.

"Hey! It's not that bad!" Zack protested, but it was true, his singing did ward away monsters. He went from nonsensical songs to reciting LOVELESS melodies. They managed to get to the materia cave unscathed. Venturing over to the mako pool, they were hoping to get another materia, but sadly, the elemental materia they found during their time wasn't ready yet.

The small party continued deeper into the mountains, taking out a stray bomb here and there before making their way into the mako reactor. Walking into its steely interior brought back horrible memories for each of them, but even so they ventured forward until they've reach the pod room where makonoids were kept.

The moment they walked in, balls of fire rained upon them. Zack was quick to draw his sword to shield Cloud and Tifa from the flaming orbs. A single flapping wing caught his attention. Hovering before them was Genesis, grey from deterioration with a single black wing.

"Who…who is that?" Tifa whispered as Zack moved between them and Genesis.

"Out for a late night stroll, puppy?" The man said to Zack.

"Genesis." Zack said lowly.

"I don't see Sephiroth, am I to assume you came here knowing I was here?" Genesis drawled as he landed on the ground gracefully.

"If you're here for Jenova, you can forget it. She's not going to be able to stop your degradation." Zack held up his sword defensively.

"I'm hardly after that alien. What would cure me are the S-cells." Genesis held out a dumb apple. "The gift of the goddess."

"Zack, we—" Cloud was cut off.

"It seems like you've obtained a puppy of your own." Genesis drawled as he glanced over to Cloud's spiky head. "Taking after Angeal?"

"Genesis, you don't have to do this. We can help. There is a cure!" Zack pleaded.

"Cure?" Genesis chuckled. "Only Sephiroth can help me now."

"He's not going to if you tell him what you're planning to tell him."

"Oh? And you know what my plans are?" Genesis challenged him.

"His cells won't help you nor would he give them to you." Zack explained.

"Zack!" Cloud shouted out before he quickly turned around. G-clones were coming at them from all over.

"Even if the morrow is barren of promises, nothing shall forestall my return." Genesis recited grimly. "If Sephiroth will not share…" He snorts. "It doesn't matter."

"Genesis!" Zack shouted out, but by then the man had tossed another round of flaming orbs distracting them for his escape. "Wait!"

"Zack! Don't forget why we're here!" Cloud snapped out as he parried an attack from the clone. Tifa did her best to sidestep and roundhouse kicks them over the head.

Zack closed his eyes tightly in anger before he swung his sword about to take out the clones and slash his way through Jenova's chamber. In his mind, memories of Genesis came up again and again. The first time they've met, the times they've fought and at last their final battle beneath Banora. Zack hadn't notice, but he was floating off the ground before the chamber to Jenova lit up with runes and magical symbols on the ground. With an angry roar, the magical field flared up with lightening and flames. The room and Jenova was engulfed in flames.

Tifa and Cloud quickly ducked as debris from the room flew out at them. Zack dropped from to the ground heavily, but he wasn't done. No, Zack marched up the metal steps and sliced away the carnage and into the chamber again.

_Where is_ _my son? My loving son! Kill them all! Take back what is ours! Rip, tear, kill! _

"Why won't you die?" Zack roared as he threw one Tri-Fire after another. His head pounding as Jenova rambled on and on.

Tifa and Cloud cautiously approached and watch as Zack burned the remains of Jenova until only ashes remained. The chamber was unrecognizable. The name Jenova was no longer legible any trace of the monster was finally gone.

"And stay dead!" snapped the huffing First.

"Zack?" Cloud tried cautiously.

"…I'm fine." Zack's voice cracked. "She's gone. I don't hear her anymore."

"That man…" Tifa started quietly. "Who was he? He had a wing just like Sephiroth."

"I… don't want to talk about it." Zack murmured.

"You're going to have to." Cloud grounded out. "You knew he was going to be here and you didn't tell us about it? It could've jeopardized the whole thing!"

"He's not important now! Sephiroth is!" Zack snapped back. "I'll tell you about him someday, but I just can't tell you now okay? We have Sephiroth to worry about and he should be our first priority!"

"All right, all right." Tifa raised her hands trying to settle the two. "We got rid of Jenova, what's our next step?"

"The next step?" Zack sighed in exhaustion as he looked at his two companions. "The next step, we show Sephiroth he's a human."

o.o.o.o.o

CM Aeris: All right… I was really thinking of discontinuing this story since I'm horrible with writing final fantasy… but I already wrote half of the chapter and I feel bad leaving all of you without it. I'm not promising a quick update since I have no clue where this story is going to lead to, but I _might_ continue it. MIGHT! No promises! But tell me what you think and maybe I'll get inspired you never know!


	5. Chapter 5

**Resolving Crisis**

**Chapter Five: One-Winged Angel**

Something wasn't right… Sephiroth rolled out of bed and drew his sword when he felt a breeze in the room. Moonlight crept through the open window, his blade catching the light as he surveyed the empty room. Half of his men were gone, but that wasn't important. Someone was in the room. A flaming blaze assaulted him, but he easily blocked the attack with a raise of his hand.

"Genesis." Sephiroth whispered as his friend landed before him. His silver strands stood out prominently against his dulled auburn hair.

"I was going to wait for you atop of the mako reactor my friend for there stood something that you needed to see for yourself… but it seems Angeal's puppy has gone on and destroyed it."

"Destroyed what?" Sephiroth asked.

Genesis snorted as he uttered, "Jenova."

The silver-haired general's eyes widened. "My mother?"

"Poor little Sephiroth, you've never met your mother have you?" Genesis drawled. "I don't know what images you've conjured up in your mind, but Jenova was excavated from a 2,000 year old rock layer. A monster."

"Monster…?" Sephiroth stared at his friend. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Project Jenova have lead to Project G that created Angeal and monsters like me." He flourished his hands for show, but his eyes glued to him seriously. "And also Project S, such as yourself."

"You're not making much sense Genesis." Sephiroth shook his head.

"My friend, you are the bringer of life." Genesis held out a dumb apple before him.

"LOVELESS again?" Sephiroth sighed as he withdrew his weapon. "If you wish to badger me at least choose an appropriate time without damaging civilian property."

"Don't patronize me Sephiroth. Share with me your cells. Cells that won't mutate nor degrade." Genesis demanded, but quickly found the Masamune pointed at him.

"Come back at sensible hour with your demands. Until then I refuse to listen to your reasoning." Sephiroth kept his blade still, yet threateningly at Genesis's throat.

Though reluctant, Genesis had no choice but to stand down and back away from the silver-haired general. "We are monsters. Make no mistake of that."

Sephiroth said nothing as he watched his friend disappear through the window. There were so many questions he wanted to ask, but knowing Genesis, his fellow first was not one to give a straight answer. He would always try to tie in LOVELESS somehow. At this hour, he had no patience to decipher Genesis's cryptic words.

He hardly needed the sleep, but he was not about to indulge Genesis when it was such an ungodly hour. Speaking of sleep, why hasn't the other trooper woken? Surely the fire attack itself would've been loud enough to wake anyone.

With a quick check, he found him deep in a sleep spell. Genesis must've cast it before he confronted him, but that doesn't explain the missing Zack and the other infantryman. Genesis said they were off destroying Jenova, his mother, a 2,000-year-old monster?

Sephiroth's frown deepened as all thoughts of sleep disappeared. Something just wasn't adding up. He needed answers… and staying here won't tell him anything. It's time he went and looked for some answers.

o.o.o.o.o

"Shit, shit, shit!" Zack cursed as he hauled Cloud out of the mako pool. In their hurry down the mountain, they had to go through the mako cave again, but as they were going past the mako pool, Cloud lost his footing and plunged headfirst into the concentrated mako.

"Cloud!" Tifa shouted out, but Zack kept her from diving in after him.

"No Tifa! You're going to get mako poisoning if you go in." Zack made sure she stayed put before running towards the pool to haul Cloud out. "Cloud! Buddy!" Zack tried his best to wipe away what mako was on him, but he knew it was useless; his clothes were already drenched in mako. "Damn it, this is a fine time for this mess!"

"You go on ahead Zack, I could take—" Tifa was cut off.

"I'm not leaving the two of you on the mountain like this. It's too dangerous." Zack snapped as he hauled Cloud onto his back.

They've wasted enough time as it is. They needed to get back to Sephiroth before Genesis does something irreparable. Though by the time they've reach town, it was too late. Sephiroth was there, waiting for them.

"Er… hey Sephiroth, what are you doing up?" Zack chuckled lamely. Cloud was whimpering in pain. "We were going on a little exploration trip up the mountains, but we had a little accident on the way up, Cloud fell into a mako spring. This area is pretty dangerous. We should be careful tomorrow."

"And pray tell what were you doing up in the mountains at this hour?" Sephiroth crossed his arms, waiting for an answer.

"Well, one of the kids in town was telling me about the seven wonders and one of them is this bomb that has…" Zack trailed off as he noticed the man wasn't buying his story. "You spoke to Genesis didn't you?"

A curt nod answered his question.

Zack sighed. "I don't know what he told you, but that monster in the reactor isn't your mother. You're human like the rest of us! Whoever told you Jenova is your mother is a liar. And before you jump to conclusions, we had to kill that thing! It was self-defense!"

"Self-defense?" Sephiroth questioned.

"It was raiding my mind!" Zack said frantically. "Telling me to kill, to maim!"

"And the reactor?" He frowned.

"There's nothing wrong with it. I think this is a set up." Zack answered. "The only thing there was Jenova and a bunch of failed experiments."

Sephiroth said nothing as he turned his heel and walked off.

Zack chased after him. "Where are you going?"

"To get some answers. Hojo had a lab here years ago. There should be something here that would explain this." Sephiroth muttered.

"Didn't you hear what I said? This whole thing is a set up! You could be walking into a trap for all you know!" Zack snapped.

"Zack." The man started. "Remember what I said about this mission in the beginning?"

"The beginning?" Zack frowned as he thought back. "You said depending on what happens on the mission you might…" His eyes widened. "Leave Shinra? Are you serious?"

"…I'm not sure… not yet." Sephiroth murmured.

"Do you have a plan? You'll leave Shinra, then what? At least Genesis has his army." Zack reasoned. "What do you have?"

Sephiroth paused in his steps and turned to Zack seriously. "What do you suggest I do? If you're so clear on everything."

Zack paused for a moment wondering. This was his chance to help Sephiroth, but what could he say to change the man's fate?

"Ngh…" Cloud groaned from Zack's back.

It was then that it clicked in his mind. "Why don't you help Genesis? I don't mean like join him. I mean really help him. His degradation is getting worse right? Maybe we could do something to stop it. Someone has to stop his rampage right?"

"…Genesis." Sephiroth murmured as he thought of his friend he saw only moments earlier. The auburn-haired man did seem desperate even amidst his floral words and cruel insinuations. He closed his eyes briefly before continuing his walk. "We'll see."

"Wait Seph—" Zack stumbled as Cloud started to slip from his back. He quickly lowered the near comatose blond to the ground before Tifa rushed over to him. "Think you can handle it? I'm going to try to do some damage control."

"Just go. I'll make sure he gets back safe." Tifa said as she pulled Cloud's arm over her shoulder.

"I'll do what I can, but just incase, we should prepare for the worse." Zack said before he ran towards the manor quick at Sephiroth's heel. Fortunately, the man hadn't gotten far. He's only gotten to the front of Shinra mansion. "Wait up!"

"Is there a need for you to follow me? I could go through the documents myself." He eyed Zack for a moment. "It seems like you've already had a rough night."

A grin spread across Zack's face as he brushed a finger under his nose. "Glad you care, but I'm not one to leave friends swimming through hordes of paper. After all you can get a dreaded paper cut!" He said jokingly.

Sephiroth snorted a chuckle as he continued on. "As you will." He said as they both entered the manor and gone towards the hidden passageway on the second floor.

"You know… do mad scientists all have to have the same motif going on?" Zack started after going through a long moment of silence. Sephiroth glanced to him briefly as if to humor his rhetorical question. "You know, creepy secret passageways, doing evil deeds away from the light of day, the works."

"Mad might be too mild of a way to describe Hojo." Sephiroth commented as they descended the treacherous staircase.

Zack let out a laugh as he followed. As they ventured deeper into Hojo's former lab, they're encountered Sahagins and dispatched them easily. What they found from the remains were keys.

"A little suspicious ain't it?" Zack commented as he tossed the key in the air and caught it swiftly. "Why go through all the trouble putting keys on the monsters and letting them loose like this?"

Sephiroth frowned. "Someone was trying to hide something… but why bother if this is a trap? It would be wise to make it easy access…"

"Maybe this isn't part of the trap and Hojo is being vindictive." Zack commented as he looked around. "There seems to be a few rooms here… maybe we should check it out before heading towards the lab? Even though it's a side tour, it shouldn't take up much of our time."

He was trying his best to act natural and sound natural, but he couldn't help but feel his heart race against his chest. If they could manage to get Vincent to assist them with the truth, they'd have a chance in saving Sephiroth, but he has no clue on whether or not this Vincent was from their time, or if he was still the same guilt ridden Turk. Either way, he could only hope for the best.

"Coffins." Sephiroth muttered as they inspected the rooms.

The keys went to these unknown coffins. Why there were any was a question in itself. The first three they've opened had only giant insects, bugs that were barely worth their time, but they pressed on. Hojo has a sick sense of humor if he simply placed monsters in coffins waiting for some un-expecting soul to come and free these monsters.

"This is the last one." Zack commented as he patted the coffin loudly. Hoping to wake Vincent before they opened the coffin.

Sephiroth inserted the key and opened the locked coffin. The wooden lid slid off with a gentle push and they found a sleeping man in a red cloak. "He's alive… how is this possible? The manor hasn't been used for over twenty years… and this man is alive? How—"

"Who are you and what is your relation to Hojo?" A velvet voice droned out.

Both Zack and Sephiroth glanced to the man's face as blood red eyes met with theirs. The man sat up in the coffin, his hands clenching to the sides of the coffin. One a golden claw, the other a gloved hand that buckled up to his elbow and hidden in the black material of his clothing.

"I am General Sephiroth. Who are you?" Sephiroth avoided the second question.

"Lucrecia's son?" He breathed with widened eyes.

"Lucrecia?" Sephiroth frowned.

"What has Hojo told you? What lies has he given you?" The man demanded with a frown.

"And just who are you?" Sephiroth asked.

"Vincent Valentine." He answered without hesitation.

Zack pretended to be surprise as he blurted out. "The legendary Turk?" Both Sephiroth and Vincent turned to him with a look. Zack held up his hands defensively. "I heard that there was a legendary Turk that was a sharpshooter. They said he's been MIA for over twenty years…"

"…Twenty years… I've been asleep for twenty years." He murmured to himself.

Seeing Sephiroth wasn't talking, Zack decided to continue. "How did you end up in that coffin like you did? And you said twenty years, how did you survive that long without food and water?"

"Hojo…" Vincent growled out. "That man did this to me. He turned me into this creature… this monster."

Zack grimaced at his choice of words. "And Lucrecia? You said she is Sephiroth's mother?"

Vincent ignored his question, his eyes focused on Sephiroth alone. "What lies have that man told you Sephiroth? What illusions have he shrouded over your life?"

Zack could see the slight hesitation in his superior officer's face, but at the same time, he could see him giving in. A brief sense of relief flooded him as Sephiroth answered.

"He said Jenova was my mother…" He said slowly. While he sounded far from a child, Zack could see the uncertainty the man had on his face.

"Jenova?" Vincent said in disbelief. "The man had you believing that fossil is your mother?" He growled. "Unbelievable. Is he so obsessed with that specimen that he's completely ignored the existence of his wife?"

Sephiroth clenched his fists at hearing his words. "If you know what kind of man Hojo is, why did you not take my mother and leave?" He demanded furiously. "Why did you leave her with him? Why did you leave me with him?"

Zack felt his heart jump for joy at hearing those words from Sephiroth. While the danger of Sephiroth going mad was far from over, he was excited in the least that Sephiroth believed he was truly human. He believed Lucrecia was his mother. Though furious for Vincent failed at what Angeal's stepfather managed to succeed in, he wasn't running amuck burning down villages. It was a good progress.

"My sins cannot be atoned, but I wished I could have taken Lucrecia with me before I was cursed with this body."

"While I'm all for heart to heart, I don't think this place is appropriate for it. Why don't we head back to the hotel?" Zack clapped his hands trying to catch their attention.

"What about the lab?" Sephiroth was never one to forget the objective.

"I'll look through it and bring whatever's good. I doubt there would be much though." Zack reasoned. He glanced to Vincent. "You'd come with us right?"

"If this would clear the lies Hojo said in the past years." Vincent said darkly as he jumped out of his coffin and landed lightly on his feet.

"Great, head on up without me. I'm going to head towards the lab." Zack gave a shudder. "This place gives me the creeps. I don't know how you could stand it for 20 years."

Neither Sephiroth nor Vincent protested as they ascended up the stairs and towards the rooms in the mansion. Zack on the other hand went towards the lab and dived into the abundant amount of research material. Anything written by Hojo was to be shredded or burned. Anything written by Lucrecia Crescent was carefully placed aside to bring up later. Zack sighed as he continued in this manner in boredom.

o.o.o.o.o

While Zack was busy down below, Vincent and Sephiroth were facing one another in awkward silence. Without the spiky-haired first to move the conversation along, neither was willing to speak.

"… What would you like to know about Lucrecia?" Vincent asked after the silence became unbearable.

Sephiroth breathed through his nose as he glanced to the secret passageway, hoping Zack was soon done.

"Is something wrong?"

"H-hm?" Sephiroth snapped his attention back to the other man before crossing his arms. "Nothing, just wondering if Zack is having much trouble." He lied.

A wry grin touched the man's lips as he held back a chuckle. "You're lying. You're wondering if that boy could come back and ask the questions for you."

Sephiroth tensed, but said nothing.

"You act like your mother." Vincent said gently. "She acts the same way when she's trying to hide something… I'm sorry you've never met her. She was a brilliant woman."

"…What was she like?" Sephiroth found himself asking at seeing the wistful look on Vincent's face.

"Kind, gentle, beautiful, I could continue listing all of her qualities, but even then it wouldn't touch the surface of who she truly is. Even though I was assigned to watch over her, she was always friendly and open to conversation. It was hard not to be drawn in by her."

Sephiroth soon found himself a seat on the bed as Vincent began to talk more and more about the woman he loved. He felt like a child for once in his life as he soaked up what he could of his mother.

o.o.o.o.o

Zack cracked his neck after five hours of paper shuffling. There was already a sizeable pile of Hojo's works ready to be burned, while Lucrecia's pile was neatly stacked atop of the mahogany desk. He knew there was a sewer connection to the lab and decided to haul all of Hojo and any documents relating to Jenova to burn. The nonsense about Jenova being an ancient, a Cetra are all bull. There's no need for anyone to think of Jenova on the same level as Aeris. They're incomparable.

Once the pile of books was in the sewers, Zack stood a good distance away before firing off Firaga spells at the pile. The methane combusted immediately and engulfed the books in a fiery death. Zack gave a sigh as he watched the books burn and collapse into itself.

"Well, that's that." Zack sighed in relief as he clapped his hands clean in a job well done. And if everything goes well between Vincent and Sephiroth, they wouldn't have to worry about Sephiroth losing his mind and trying to destroy the world. The only thing left is to get rid of Shinra before it drained the Planet of its life force. This was going better than he thought.

Pain blossomed at the back of his head as the world shifted around him. Zack fell to his knees and raised a hand to his head wondering where the pain came from. Blood stained his gloves as he strained to stay awake. What was going on? The sound of a wing flapping met his ear as black feathers floated in his line of vision.

"Legend speaks of sacrifice at world's end. The wind sails over the water's surface quietly, but surely. You will be my sacrifice, puppy." Genesis's voice echoed the sewers.

"Gene…sis…" Zack strained before he finally passed out from the assault.

The red clad first knelt down to pick up the unconscious Zack before he flew through the sewers and out the other exit. If Sephiroth will not pay him any mind, he will just have to make the man come to him by taking his only remaining friend.

o.o.o.o.o

"Do you smell burning?" Vincent asked as he paused in mid-story.

Sephiroth raised his nose as he took in the air. "It smells like raw sewage."

"…There's a sewer system under the mansion… high concentration of methane…" Vincent trailed off.

"Zack." Sephiroth quickly rose to his feet as he hurried down the passageway to check on his fellow first.

Both he and Vincent followed the smell down through the lab. The place was stripped bare of any of the books that were there before. There were only a few books on the shelves and a small pile stacked neatly on the table.

"Your friend decimated the place. I recalled there being more books." Vincent commented as he looked through the room.

The books on the table he noticed were all written by his mother, but everything else were mass-produced books not a hint of Hojo's work anywhere. Zack was nowhere in sight.

"Where is he?" Sephiroth muttered as he followed the smell of burn sewage.

They descended down the ladder and into the sewers. At the bottom they found a pile of charred books still burning and crumbling into ash, but that wasn't important. What caught his attention was the blood on the ground and the feathers floating in the raw sewage. He saw red. Wasn't it enough that Angeal is gone?

"Genesis." Sephiroth growled under his breath. "He's gone too far!"

"Sephiroth?" Vincent questioned when the general placed a hand to his forehead.

"No… No I won't let this happen." Sephiroth growled as a single wing thrust out from his back. "Not again."

"Sephiroth wait!" Vincent called out as he chased after the silver-haired man.

He's had enough of Genesis, this time there will be no mercy.

o.o.o.o.o

CM Aeris: Sorry for the shortness of this chapter. I just wasn't feeling it when I wrote this. Bright Misdreavus insisted Vincent's eyes were red, but I still think it's yellow. It seemed a little choppy to me how everything flowed. I hoped Sephiroth wasn't too out of character. Oh, and it's likely I'm not going to work on this story as much, considering I'm also doing a Full Metal Alchemist cross over with FF7. Swing by **Golden Gift** and tell me what you think about it and don't forget to review!


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